They uncover practical ways to encourage reflection back in the workplace and how to harness existing performance support systems more effectively.

Click on image to view video

Find out more about Towards Maturity Benchmark
Find out more about Ontuitive at www.ontuitive.com.

With thanks to QA Training who filmed this conversation as part of their Spring Series Event

TM - 10 years of valuable data gathering
Towards Maturity has been gathering data for 10 years, and Laura was keen to emphasise that the organisation is less focused on statistics than on the implications of those statistics and how they can be used to take action; identifying the behaviors and best practices that lead to success for the high performers in the study.

After highlighting some of the factors that are causing mobile to capture our attention – the high rates of adoption, the growth of BYOD schemes, and the need felt by learning professionals to integrate learning into the workplace – Laura concentrated on some significant barriers. These are mostly around the technology and coping with the wide range of devices that must be catered for.

The secrets of m-learning success
She then gave us six ‘secrets of success’ drawn from studying the behavior of top learning organisations, and with particular relevance to mobile learning and communications.

1. Embrace mobile as part of a mix
   Top learning organisations are more likely to embrace mobile learning but also more likely to consider it as just part of a wider mix of learning delivery methods in driving results.
2. Keep aligned to business priorities
   They tend to analyse the business problem before recommending a solution, and are seven times more likely to change and adapt programmes in line with changing business strategy.   
3. Understand your learning landscape
   These organisations are more aware of how people in their businesses are using technology for themselves: what devices and content they already use and what support they might need to enhance and increase their learning.  
4. Support formal learning
   They support the programmes that are really important to the organisation’s destiny – e.g. business skills, induction – more effectively with technology. They also train trainers more effectively to use technology in extending learning beyond the classroom.
5. Enhance performance at the point of need
   Performance support is a very critical aspect of learning with mobile. Top learning organistions are 6.5 times more likely to be proactive in this area.
6. Communicate and connect
   They are five times more likely to use technology to help learners find expert help inhouse, through social media but also using on mobile. They help staff share and problem solve with technology and are 34 times as likely to use it as a communications channel to learners alongside learning.

For a full report on LINE's event on mobile learning click here.

Image By jannoon028

The World of Learning Conference & Exhibition is the essential event for all learning and development professionals, delivering the most cost-effective methods and solutions for more successful learning results.

Now in its 21st year, the World of Learning is set to showcase the latest developments in L&D in everything from e-learning and mobile learning to experiential and classroom learning, as well as live workshops, one-to-one consultations, free seminars and its renowned annual conference.

This year’s conference features inspiring case-studies from L&D thought-leaders across a range of leading organisations.

Concession Rates

Towards Maturity Benchmark users receive a 10% discount on conference bookings and up to 30% off bookings before 28th June 2013! Book now for the conference at www.learnevents.com or call 020 8394 5171

Contents

1.  Executive Summary
2. The changing learning landscape
3. Opportunity to embrace integration
4. Closing the gap between opportunity and usage
5. Benefits to students and end users
6. No one size fits all – the need for local support
7. Conclusion

Executive Summary

As more and more organisations are discovering the distinct link between language skills and business profitability, language learning is quickly becoming a vital component of their global talent management strategy.

And with the rise of globally deployed ERP systems with integrated talent and performance management suites, organisations face enormous opportunity to use all the systems available within a cloud of consolidated training and talent management resources.

Despite this trend, many organisations have a long way to go to embrace the full potential of the latest solutions. Methodology-based L&D staff may be deterred by the requirement to understand and implement technology and miss the expanse of opportunities which new systems offer in the learning space.

On a global level, organisations may cut back local support, mistakenly assuming that global commitment to one centralised system is sufficient. As a consequence, end users are disadvantaged and unable to reap the rewards of a fully integrated learning solution. Delivery of an integrated, unified talent and performance management system that is supported by local experts is the key to achieving both short-term and long-term talent mobility goals within an organisation.

The changing learning landscape

The recent M&A activity in the learning space signals the start of an exciting revolution, with large vendors moving towards the cloud at high speed. In December 2011, SAP announced its takeover of SuccessFactors and Salesforce followed, buying social performance management software company Rypple. Oracle has since integrated Taleo, giving it a powerhouse set of products for human resources and talent management. More recently, in August 2012, IBM announced the acquisition of Kenexa to help ramp up its analytics service, specifically in the identification of workforce skills. These significant changes have meant that multinationals are able to disseminate any type of information within the structure of their organisation in more ways than ever before.

With the rise of enterprise resource solutions, companies now have greater opportunity to work across borders, using all systems available within the ‘cloud’ of consolidated training and talent management resources. Companies are also able to integrate their talent management systems within their overall IT structure, especially those wishing to operate on a global scale. This is a relatively new trend, which is opening up opportunities for organisations looking at innovative talent management solutions to disseminate training that will deliver sustainable growth for their business.

In late May 2012, dp’s own cloud-based blended online language learning solution Speexx gained global recognition in delivering improved business communication skills, receiving the “2012 Golden Engine Award for Strategically and Sustainably Driving China’s Education Industry” which demonstrates a continued appetite for improving workforce agility and drive towards globalisation of business.

Opportunity to embrace integration

Despite the trend towards cloud-based technology, many organisations still have a long way to go to embrace its potential, particularly when it comes to language learning. According to a recent McKinsey report , in China barely 2 million managerial employees out of a population of over 1.3 billion could communicate in English on a management level, which is a startling skills gap in China’s labour market. The survey also found senior managers in global organisations switch companies at a rate of 30-40 per cent a year, which is five times the global average.

One of our largest global customers for instance, has forty-two different learning management systems. Obviously, this is both difficult to implement and maintain. On the opposite side of this, we have systems such as SAP, Oracle or Salesforce, which are typically sitting on top of any organisation. These systems already integrate different learning technologies and talent management systems into one cloud, opening up new opportunities for delivering, monitoring and developing an organisation’s learning space.

A harmonised system that can provide one message, a single set of learning resources and one philosophy is a powerful opportunity for organisations to embrace within their talent management strategy, especially communication skills training and language learning. Gone are the days when language learning was perceived as best learnt informally and in the country in which it is spoken. For the first time, technology can encompass all aspects of language learning, and has now become a vessel through which organisations can provide an effective training programme and determine what, when and how their staff learn.

There are enormous opportunities for organisations to grasp the full potential of technology and apply it to the broader context to how staff can learn, yet many of these are being missed by organisations. The recent Towards Maturity survey,  a report based on 8 years’ research involving over 1800 organisations, cited the top three barriers to the implementation of learning technologies by those related to L&D to be lack of knowledge about its potential use and implementation (62%), lack of skills to implement and manage the learning system and reluctance by staff to implement new technologies (61%).

These figures reflect how relatively new it is for HR and L&D staff to be confronted with the sort of data mining involved with implementing cloud technology in the learning space. We have companies that are now entering the L&D space such as Oracle and SAP who specialise in structuring data for large corporations. On the other hand, L&D is very much about methodology and how to teach, but suddenly L&D staff are faced with systems where it is possible to run statistics and operate sophisticated methods of learning deployment and monitoring. Very quickly, L&D staff are realising that they also require an understanding of technology. Organisations need the right people to run, deploy and maintain the technology to reap the long-term benefits.

Closing the gap between opportunity and usage

Many organisations are still resorting to classroom-based training, even when operating on a global scale, because this is what they have traditionally understood. At the same time, they are buying into systems that are able to analyse any sort of global activity and to support diversity by providing relevant language learning content according to the gender, language and cultural dynamics of the organisation.

This means that there is a significant gap between usage and opportunity, which can result in a real risk of the technological system to become a redundant investment. It is this gap which organisations need to close in order for students and end users to make the most of new talent management systems.

When it comes to implementing a training strategy, from our experience, we have seen most of an organisation’s budget tends to go towards bricks and mortar. At the same time, however, organisations are expecting to have a 360 degree view of the progress and output achieved from global training programmes. For this reason, there is a pressing need for organisations to take on board the benefits of new learning systems and to educate and train the managers running the L&D sectors of their organisation. This is something that is not happening as fast as the recent M&A activity.

Benefits to students and end users

Traditionally, students learning at a corporate level are bound to one teacher, in one classroom environment. Today, the ‘perfect blend’ of combining virtual classrooms, mobile learning and e-learning is revolutionising the way in which organisations approach communication training and development. With the ‘perfect blend’ approach, companies can combine self-paced learning, assignment tasks and classes, which can be attended virtually or over the phone. These learning tools can then be customised to suit staff learning needs and level of skill – and companies should encourage staff to use and develop their skills in ways that are both motivating and compatible with the demands of the workplace.

The implementation of the perfect blend within a learning program gives students the opportunity to study whatever, whenever and wherever they choose. According to the Towards Maturity survey, 32% were using e-Learning at a location other than at work in 2011, compared to only 7% in 2006. E-Learning was also being used more frequently while travelling in 2011 at 52%, compared to 22% in 2006.

What students can expect is more specific content and knowledge tailored to their learning needs. The exposure to greater content, combined with more accurate ways of monitoring and assessing learning through the perfect blend, means that the quality of learning can also be improved compared to traditional methods. For end users working in a multi-national corporation, being visible to the company on a global scale in the e-learning environment provides the employee with much greater potential to be recognised as valuable to the organisation and have the opportunity for greater career mobility.

No one size fits all – the need for local support

Implementing the correct learning and development strategy is critical to attracting retaining and developing talent. However, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach. With the ever-evolving learning landscape, it is important that organisations be aware of recent developments and can be both adaptable and confident in embracing change.

A global technology platform is a good way to disseminate information, but it does not teach anything on its own accord. Many organisations make the mistake of assuming that, just because they have one global system, it can be applied to simply everything, but this is not a pragmatic approach and most often does not work. The objective in wanting to learn how to communicate, regardless of how it is achieved, can vary strongly among individual users. An organisation needs people to run the system, to support it from the ground up on a local basis. It is this combination of global delivery and local support which is crucial, especially for language training. At Speexx, we refer to this as the “Need for Glocalisation”.

Organisations often make the costly mistake of relying solely on one central system and demolishing or cutting down local support, thus overlooking the fact that end users need to have onsite help at hand. Local support starts with a technical help desk, who can implement the technology and the methodology. Local tutors are also necessary, who can teach in a way that is suited to the cultural and learning needs of the particular set of students.

Conclusion

Although we are still in the early innings of adopting cloud-based learning solutions, it is evident that a strategic combination of methodology and technology is critical in both the consistent delivery of language learning and building talent from the ground up. No longer can one section of an organisation operate in a silo. Nor can organisations assume a “one size fits all” approach. The key to a successful talent management solution is developing one streamlined, global solution which is complemented by local support. In this way, organisations can effectively embrace the opportunities that new technologies have to offer and unlock the full potential of talent within their workforce.

About Speexx

Speexx helps large organisations everywhere to drive productivity by empowering employee communication skills across borders. Speexx offers an award-winning range of cloud-based online language learning solutions for Business English, Spanish, German, Italian and French with ongoing support in 13 languages. Speexx is easy to use and scales to the needs of users and training managers in organisations of any size.

The Speexx branded Perfect Blend integrates online business communication skills training, mobile and social learning, expert coaches located throughout the world and personalised live online activities into one fully standardised, globally consistent learning experience. More than 7 million users in 1,500 organisations – including Ericsson, ArcelorMittal, UNHCR and Credit Suisse – use Speexx to learn a language smarter and deliver results on time. Speexx was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Munich, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Sao Paulo and Shanghai. For more information, visit www.speexx.com.

Author: Armin Hopp, Founder and President of Speexx
www.speexx.com Twitter: @speexxtweets
 

The LMS of “Now” have moved quickly to become a more encompassing learning environment and platform, capable of delivering learning and supporting performance across organisations and playing a key role in
managing talent.

So, are you leveraging your “LMS of Now” to extract the maximum benefit for your people and your organisation?

The Learning Management System or LMS originated from the requirement of being able to store and deliver eLearning courses to the workforce, via the internet and company intranets. This, alongside the introduction and adoption of the AICC and SCORM standards for eLearning, became the core purpose and the only functionality of the LMS to be understood and effectively used by the organisations.

The LMS of “Now” is a different beast that has evolved and grown to offer a whole lot more, however, the conventional mindset and perception about the LMS has stunted its use and limited organisations from harnessing its true power.

So, what is this LMS of “Now”? What else can it do? How do we leverage all its features to create a learning ecosystem that not only manages the ‘training’ part but more importantly, enables a learning driven workforce? Let’s take a look.

 
1.      Classroom Training

The great divide between eLearning and Classroom is a thing of the past. The LMS of “Now” brings them together, allowing the management of learning without differentiation! Its capabilities extend to the management of more complex and dynamic resources including training inventory, trainer and external vendors, training rooms and venues.

Training management typically involved juggling multiple training programmes, planning and administering training sessions through the year, running, tracking and recording myriad assessments pre and post sessions and making available a host of training materials was always a nightmare. Well, at least till the LMS of “Now” showed up and made it so easy! It even manages attendance and reporting, send email notifications and reminders – if used correctly; you have a winner on your hands!

 
2.      Virtual Classrooms

Globalisation and ‘virtual proximity’ has become the environment in which we live and work today; and being able to connect people across the world is an integral part of this. The ability  to talk to and see each other virtually, conduct meetings, share materials and resources and yes, even run training sessions has not only advanced at a rapid pace but has become a necessity.

The LMS of ‘Now’ have either their own virtual classroom technologies or have ready APIs for the most popular ones. A few clicks allows you to manage this from within your LMS, enables you to expand and extend organisational reach and access to training resources, conduct ‘live’ training sessions and much more. And because it is all integrated in your LMS you can keep an eye on things through the reports the LMS of ‘Now’ generates.

 
3.      Videos

You Tube, TED, the Khan Academy, have made videos a way of life and a significant part of the learning process. The LMS of ‘Now’ allows you to pull together all these exciting mediums of communication to provide a learning experience that is richer and far more interactive than ever before – well at least for now!

Bandwidth and video technology have made this so easy and we, in the LMS world, have kept pace, making the incorporation and use of video an integral part of the LMS of ‘Now’! Are you enriching your learning environments with powerful videos?

 
4.      Informal and Social Learning

In 2009, we were talking about Social Learning and its place in workplace environment; today it is no longer a concept or a trend – it is a reality. Social Learning goes beyond the conventional method of storing content and creating access rules around it. It gives the power of creating content [that helps others learn] to the learners themselves. Despite having a multitude of courses, videos, etc. available as part of training material, learning by sharing is certainly very powerful.

The exchange of anecdotal and real world experiences, tips and tricks and connecting with each other in real-time makes learning contextually rich and meaningful, allowing learners to collaborate and learn from one another. Communities around subject areas, common interests and better still, linked to training resources available on the LMS, help us create a sustainable pool of knowledge that makes the training function itself very effective. It also takes the concept of performance support to a new level as learners can find what they need and when they need it easily and instantly.

 
5.      “Empowered” Learning

A sea change in the way we learn has been the empowering of the learners.  The LMS of ‘Now’ can provide the learning environment for learners to ‘structure and assemble’ their own learning by pulling learning materials and resources together to form a curriculum that is customised to their learning needs and indeed to their learning styles. It allows the learners to strive for improvement and personal development that creates a more productive and happy workforce. 

 
6.       e-learning

Oh yes! The LMS of ‘Now’ still does eLearning too….!

Food for thought? Are you running a LMS of “Now”?

Related blog posts by Upside Learning

• Emerging Trends in LMS
• Tips to Maximize the ROI of your LMS

 
Related downloads

• LMS in Training Companies – Then & Now

www.upsidelearning.com/uk/

 
Author Profile:

Amit Gautam

Founder & Director – Technology Solutions

Amit has played a key role in bringing an innovative approach to the traditional Learning Management System (LMS) and has been instrumental in putting UpsideLMSon the global map.

Acting as a consultant for his clients, he leverages his 12+ years on experience in the eLearning domain and helps them in implementing LMS successfully. At Upside Learning, he leads the Technology Solutions team and orchestrates the Sales operations in the US, the Middle East and India.

Amit is an active contributor to the company’s blog and many eLearning forums. Amit has spoken at various L&D events in the US, has co-hosted webinars alongside leading industry experts and has authored eBooks on Learning Management Systems. He has served as a judge for the Brandon Hall awards in 2002 and 2004.

Amit holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (REC–Kurukshetra) and a master’s in Business Administration (IIM – Lucknow), and has earlier worked in the IT sector.

 

London, April 10, 2013 SAI Global, a leading supplier of award-winning ethics and compliance training, is sponsoring a new independent benchmark study exploring methodologies and practices for improving the impact of compliance training.  The study has been produced in collaboration with Towards Maturity, a not-for-profit benchmarking organisation committed to sharing and promoting best practice in the use of learning technologies.  The results of the study will be shared through a new report to be issued in July 2013.
 
Information for the study will be gathered via an online survey, which is open to all those responsible for compliance and ethics training and awareness programmes in the workplace.  The final report aims to examine the various methodologies used by businesses for ethics and compliance training, and will investigate the drivers, barriers, benefits and trends in the use of learning technologies.  The survey is open until 10th May 2013 and takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Laura Overton, Managing Director at Towards Maturity said,

‘Our 2012 Learning Technologies benchmark report revealed that compliance is often one of the first topics that businesses ‘e-enable’, so it’s vitally important that that they get it right first time. The report also highlighted that 87% of businesses recognise the efficiencies in achieving compliance that learning technologies can deliver but only 50% are actually realising these benefits.  Teaming up with SAI Global for the new study will allow us to explore this gap and will provide an opportunity for compliance and L&D professionals to compare their approaches with other organisations in order to improve performance and where necessary, build an effective business case’.

Iain McLeod, Head of Compliance at SAI Global EMEA said,

‘We know from previous Towards Maturity benchmarking studies and from our own extensive experience of implementing effective compliance training programmes, that expectations of compliance training are evolving.  Businesses expect programmes to deliver measurable benefits over and above a ‘tick in the regulatory box’ – but success in realising these benefits is extremely varied.  The aim of this study is to gain insights into what is already working well for businesses, where there is room for improvement, and what are the most effective practices for improving the impact of compliance training programmes.  We are very pleased to be working with Towards Maturity on a project that we believe will help establish a best practice standard for compliance training’.


The survey can be accessed here: http://tinyurl.com/TMCompliance13.
The study closes 10th May 2013


ENDS

Media Enquiries:  

Marnie Threapleton, Towards Maturity, +44 7548 667222
Kate Dodds, SAI Global Compliance, +44 (0) 1926 523119

ABOUT SAI GLOBAL

SAI Global provides organizations with a wide range of governance, risk and compliance products, solutions and services that help build organizational integrity. With more than twenty-five years’ experience and offices in more than 25 countries, SAI Global’s solutions include an extensive library of award-winning compliance and ethics training available in multiple languages, risk assessment and advisory services, best practice Code of Conduct program development and review, whistleblowing hotline services, and the award-winning Compliance 360® GRC Software Suite. www.saiglobal.com/compliance

ABOUT TOWARDS MATURITY

Towards Maturity is a benchmarking research company that provides independent expert advice and support to help organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the largest learning technology benchmark in Europe. Since 2003 over 2200 organisations have contributed to Towards Maturity’s leading benchmarks.  Find out more about the 2012-13 Towards Maturity Benchmark at www.towardsmaturity.org/2012benchmark

Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors (21 learning organisations), annual benchmarking findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free at www.towardsmaturity.org.  To find out about Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors visit www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors.

To learn more about Towards Maturity’s unique benchmarking tools and models visit: http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/
 

Take part in new International Compliance Benchmark only open until 10 May

For too long staff have been subjected to dull, repetitive tick in the box compliance training rather than experiences that encourage behavioural changes in business. For topics that are so essential for risk mitigation and business survival, we believe it's time to rethink our approach to compliance training before it's too late!

Every organisation has to comply with regulations of some sort, and for some this will be a matter of life and death (such as oil and gas or health sectors). For other heavily regulated sectors , such as finance , the ability to demonstrate compliance is an essential factor for companies to operate.  Health and safety, corporate social responsibility, diversity and equality are all areas where businesses want  to focus for happy , healthy staff.  

The evidence is mounting

Over the last 10 years , our own studies show that compliance related training is often the first foray that an organisation has with online learning.  In fact in 2012 the Towards Maturity Benchmark shows that  over 50% of our total compliance related programmes are e-enabled in some way and nearly 90% of us want learning technologies to help improve efficiency in delivering compliance.   Despite the focus, only  50% believe that online compliance training is delivering the efficiencies we are looking for, let alone the behaviours.

In August last year Charles Jennings published a blog post  Compliance training – does it really work?   He found very little evidence of organisational impact and significant evidence that for many compliance learning is just a tick in the box exercise! For success, we have to look at changing behaviours not just proving attendance.

Clive Shepherd also takes up this call for the shift from compliance to competency as a critical success factor in his free-book Transforming Learning . How can compliance training be designed to shift attitudes and behaviours and how can staff be assessed on their ability to apply learning ,not just remember information?

Enough is Enough – it’s time for action!

Compliance training is an area that takes up much of our time -  L&D can continue to talk a good talk but we are focussing on measuring the ticks not tackling the issues of changing behaviour. I am sorry but enough is enough! Workers are being flooded with bad training that is not delivering, and worse, it is putting them off online learning for life!

As a benchmarking organisation, we are keen to help organisations change this around, not through hype but  through a simple but systematic 3 step approach :

•  Review - It is important to take time out to honestly reflect on our current approaches.What's working?What isn't?
• Compare - What are the successful organisations doing, and can we use this to build a business case for change?
• Act - How can we use this understanding to take action?

Over the next 4 weeks we are conducting 2 benchmarking initiatives to help us identify how we can apply these steps to shift our initiatives from  compliance training to building competency and influencing attitude:

Review and Compare your current approaches to compliance training in a new online Benchmark

Over the next 4 weeks, we are conducting a new international benchmark study to understand how we can improve the impact of compliance training. We want to help you review your current approach, to identify effective practices that really make a difference and to share them through a new report due to be published in July 2013.

This independent study is sponsored by SAI Global (winners of the Gold elearning award for compliance in 2012) and has been designed by by Towards Maturity. The studybuilds on our benchmark research over the last 10 years with 2200 organisations together with input from practitioners, our Ambassadors and thought leaders such as Charles and Clive above.

If you are responsible for either compliance and risk mitigation or you are an L&D professional supporting compliance training , please take this opportunity to review how your current approaches to online compliance training compare with your peers.

The study is open until 10th May so please take part and share the link with colleagues: http://tinyurl.com/TMCompliance13.

Act: Join our upcoming interactive event

The ability to honestly review our own approaches  is just the beginning of the journey – we need to also change the way that we are doing things as a result of what we discover. That’s the tough part and sometimes we need moral support and motivation to do things differently.  This is why we've teamed up with one  founding Ambassadors ,Epic, to bring people together at a practical, interactive event - Why won’t they comply?

So we'd like to invite you to informally benchmark and network with colleagues face to face at a new LearningNow event in London on the morning of the 1st of May 2013.

In this brand-new event, we’ll run interactive sessions to take a closer look at how to harness technology effectively to rethink compliance training, tackling subjects such as supporting performance, changing behaviour, overcoming barriers and engaging stakeholders. We’ll also hear from compliance experts such as Charles Jennings and Simon Brown from Natwest Bank.

Find out more and register for this free event here.

Make April your time for action

If you are tired of delivering boring tick in the box compliance training - make April your time for action!

• Take an honest look at your current approaches in our online benchmark –  Review and Compare where you are today and share the link with others in your organisation to open up discussion!
• Join with colleagues at the LearningNow event on 1st May share ideas and take action  
• Discover new ideas from articles and case studies on our site!

These events offer attendees the opportunity to connect, contribute and learn by aligning benchmark findings, workplace process and best practice. The first of the three events, ‘Why won’t they comply?’, will take place on the 1st May in London.
 
It’s no secret that compliance training has a poor reputation. In 2012, 87 per cent of the organisations investing in learning technologies were looking to improve compliance, but only 53 per cent felt they were successful (according the 2012 Towards Maturity Benchmark Study). ‘Why won’t they comply?’ will offer attendees the opportunity to share their common frustrations and come away with ideas and solutions to inject new life into compliance training.
 
Facilitated by Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity, attendees will participate in interactive discussions that examine the real issues faced when developing compliance content, before gaining practical insight on how to employ learning technologies to reinvigorate compliance training.
 
“‘LearningNow: why won’t they comply?’ will address one of the toughest challenges facing the e-learning community – implementing mandatory learning so that it makes a real difference to business performance,” said Laura Overton.
 
By the end of the session, attendees will learn how to transform compliance training from a ‘ticking the box’ exercise to content that will inspire behaviour change.
 
“We are thrilled to be working with Epic, who are, one of our Founding Ambassadors on the LearningNow workshop series. As a benchmarking practice, we are keen to help others uncover good ideas and  apply them in their own organisation,” said Overton. “LearningNow will provide a great way for learning professionals to learn together and develop practical solutions for today’s challenges. “
 
Why won’t they comply? is on the 1st May from 9:00 to 14:00 at One Drummond Gate, Victoria, London. It’s free to attend but places are limited. To register for this event go to

http://epiclearninggroup.com/uk/events/learning-now-why-wont-they-comply/

For examples of great compliance practice, why not visit http://www.towardsmaturity.org/tag/compliance/

The same was echoed in January, when we attended Learning Technologies 2013 and there it was clear that BYOD was going to be a hot topic for this year too.

But what is driving the demand? And what is holding organisations back?

Is BYOD the perfect partner for mobile learning?

First, we need to take a look at the user

In a lot of ways, it is the user driving the BYOD phenomenon. They want to be able to use their own devices in the workplace and will be doing it whether an organisation supports it or not to some degree.

You only have to look at the numbers. In a 2012 OFCOM report, 60% of mobile adopters in the UK are using smart devices, with 35% of those surveyed using their device regularly for work activities when not at work. Another survey by KPMG shows that 71% of workplace learners think it is convenient to access training from mobile devices with 56% saying that they would be likely to access training resources outside of the workplace.

When you look at these 2 surveys, it becomes clear that there is a desire from users for BYOD and an excellent opportunity for organisations to capitalise on that desire when planning their learning and development.

Jane Hart, a Learning Consultant, frequently writes about developments in learning and made an interesting statement about the modern learner:

“An increasing number of the workforce –— smart, social, autonomous workers — are already doing their own thing and solving their own learning and performance problems much more quickly and more easily by using their own tools and devices.”

In 2011 Forrester predicted that the number of users self-provisioning technology would rise to a massive 60%. In the training arena, Jane Hart calls this BYOL, or Bring Your Own Learning. This is in line with another survey by Jensen & Kline who estimated between 1/3 and 2/3 of employees met their training needs by working around learning and development provision.

The user wants it, but what about organisations?

Within organisations we are seeing a rapid uptake of BYOD, using various technologies to manage the rollout of mobile.

However, while we are seeing the rapid adoption of BYOD, mobile is still approached with trepidation in organisations. In a 2011 survey by IMC and many subsequent surveys that have followed it, security is consistently ranked as one of the highest concerns for organisations, followed closely by concerns around deployment and content.

While the mobile market is still a juvenile one, tremendous advances have been made in enterprise grade mobile platforms. First came Mobile Device Management (MDM), but it quickly became clear that the technology was too restrictive to enable BYOD and the user did not feel comfortable with an organisation having a degree of control over their actual device. This is where Mobile Application Management (MAM) technologies came in to answer this very problem. Coupled with an enterprise app store, freedom is given to the user without the concern that there device is restricted by an organisation, with a dedicated portal for a user to access all apps and content that come from the organisation.

MAM technologies have evolved to the extent where they can control data only from the organisation, with all the security features an organisation would demand. The beauty of using MAM and enterprise app stores lays in the fact it is suitable for both corporate and personally owned devices, negating the need for MDM in the workplace.

MAM and enterprise app stores in learning

So we know that users want access to learning resources on their own devices and if we are not giving it to them, they are going around L&D provision to access information. By using these new technologies available to us, we can capitalise on the huge demand for BYOD, increase productivity and improve the effectiveness of our L&D provision.

Mobile presents us with another layer in which we can engage the employee. It is not just about focusing all resources on mobile, but about creating a blended approach, using mobile as an additional learning tool. Here are some examples:

• I’m on my way to a meeting but I can’t remember the key points of a particular product. I am able to access the data sheets and a short video walkthrough of the product while on the train to my meeting.
• I have a classroom based learning course tomorrow and I have some short pre-course tests to complete, I can do them while I have a coffee in the break room.
• I am on a call and need to provide a piece of technical information; I am able to access the product app and training manuals through my enterprise app store on my tablet.

By implementing BYOD carefully, as suggested in our 5 top tips that we released at Learning Technologies 2013, we can add an extra dimension to our L&D provision. Using mobile as a platform for delivering short form and on demand learning, as well as supporting the formal learning process. This is what makes BYOD the perfect option for mobile learning, enabling more freedom and flexibility to users to learn at the point of need, not just when they are told to.

Article written by André Wigley
Andre Wigley is the CEO at Redware Limited, one of Towards Maturity's Ambassadors. Having 20 years experience in the tech sector working on everything from financial platforms to record breaking websites, he has concentrated on learning technologies for the last 10 years. Heading up the company, André is responsible for the vision and innovation of the business, setting the direction of its learning and award winning mobile platforms.

“Learning is a highly rewarding sector, it’s great to see our platforms help people gain new skills”
 

Redware Limited
Redware, based in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire was founded in 1999. Now based at The Old School, the company employs around 50 people who work to deliver learning management systems and mobile platforms to leading global enterprises. Redware’s products are in use by leading automotive company Jaguar Land Rover, providing global learning and mobile platforms across a sophisticated dealership network.
“As a market leader in learning and mobile platforms we believe in a good day in the office, wherever you are. Our learning platforms empower businesses to learn their own way, while our award winning mobile platform liberates every business it touches. We are not on a mission, this is a new culture.”
 

Image by thanunkorn

The discussion was wide ranging and looked at:

• What’s driving the increased hunger for learning technology adoption
• Are we walking the walk or just talking the talk
• Overcoming the barriers to change
• Mobile and social – are we driven by the needs of the business or the latest technology
• Challenging our assumptions around learners
• Learning from the top learning companies
• Working more effectively with providers
• Actions that L&D teams need to take in 2013

Laura quoted from the latest benchmark study from Towards Maturity and the new Learner Audit now available. She also highlighted the new Infographic available for handy hints and tips which was part of the Learning Technologies take-away.

This interview between Laura Overton, MD of the Towards Maturity benchmark practice and Martin Couzins of LearnPatch was streamed live on 15 Feb 2013.
Check out Martin Couzins and LearnPatch here http://learnpatch.com/

The economic downturn of 2009 is now fading into the past. Businesses are growing again, competition is heating up, and the outlook for the future is bright again. The dam is getting full!

What I mean by that is that in 2013, an improved economy will unleash hiring, as well as IT budgets, filling the dam and creating stress through pent up demand for training and performance support.

Let's look at these two contributing factors a little more closely. For 2013, the National Association for Business Economics predicts the economy will add 173,000 jobs a month, up from 157,000 from last year. That's potentially a 10% increase in additional employees, which doesn't even take into account employee turnover!

The second one is that new or updated enterprise systems and applications will challenge us even further as we get asked to help employees adapt with new processes and skills. Gartner, in their latest Quarterly IT Spending Forecast, says spending on enterprise software is expected to nearly double, from 3.3% in 2012 to 6.4% in 2013. Can you feel the pressure building?

                               more employees + more new systems = more training?

As things begin to ramp up in 2013, no doubt we will create new courses and send more employees to formal training, be it in classrooms or online. But, we face the typical quandary. We want our employees to have the skills they need to perform their job, but it’s a struggle, the amount of time that training takes employees away from their job. We also know that even with the limited time we do have to train, up to 90% of the information learned is lost in the first month or so after training.  This new era of growth is a PERFECT opportunity to introduce a new paradigm.  One that actually SUPPORTS performance! It is our opportunity, as learning professionals, to be seen in a very different way by the lines of business we support.

As Marc J. Rosenberg so eloquently states in his article The Fall and Rise Again of Performance Support, "We know that not all performance improvement can be achieved through training. The problem is that training often loses its connection with performance. In fact most performance gains are not training related. The workplace, not the classroom, is where most performance improvement, and most learning, takes place. This turns everything around--work is learning and learning is work!"

I can tell you that very few learning programs today successfully address the application of knowledge--the essence of performance support and what the learner and the enterprise truly care about. In fact, an informal survey of more than 1,000 of our webinar attendees showed that 82% incorporate performance support into their training efforts less than half the time.

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”- Dr Wayne Dyer

In 2013, your team and your organization have the chance to open the dam and let the water flow by incorporating performance support into your training program. Performance support will provide your employees with the help they need, when they need it—at their moment of need, helping your organization float to the top with a productive and efficient workforce.  Join us in the coming months as we push the issue and FINALLY make 2013, and beyond, the year(s) for Performance Support!!

This article was written by Bob Mosher, the Global Chief Learning and Strategy Evangelist at Ontuitive.

Registered users of the Towards Maturity Research Community can download Ontuitive's Info graphic: Moving from Training to Performance support once you logged on.

If you are not a registered user please register here. 

MOOCs in practice 

Chris described the development of a MOOC on Health Informatics (www.healthinformaticsforum.com) which he leads, which is largely for the benefit of doctors and medical students in developing countries.  Through the Ning-based community, a medical student in Africa not only has access to the best of course content designed and built in the top American universities, but is connected up to students and practitioners in the US or worldwide, who can  share their expertise or experience. 

The Health Informatics MOOC is successfully building a professional community with up to 150,000 visitors each month. Discussion centred on how to maintain such a high level of interest, and Chris described how the community grows organically and continually adds further value to the course through the quality of the discussion and debate. 

Which platform is best suited for hosting a MOOC? 

Running the MOOC on a Ning Platform such as used in the Health Informatics MOOC enables the focus to be on the quality of the content and the strength of the online community, rather than on user tracking. Each user has their own blog on the site and can upload their own data to their blog, although these are not contributing directly to the course content.

There was lively debate as to the merits of other platforms (such as Drupal or Moodle) which might add additional course functionality such as the ability to use quizzes. 

MOOC content is shared under the Creative Commons licence. Chris explains that if you want to share content and make it accessible to the maximum number of students, you should put the content out in as many formats as possible. For the Health Informatics course, much of the content is in the form of courses (created in, for example, Articulate or Adobe Presenter) published by Universities and then embedded in the social media platform.

People were interested to know if there could be a viable business model behind a MOOC, and discussed options for advertising. Although this is not something that Chris is pursuing for his MOOC, for some organisations, some MOOC software (for example Coursera or EdX) offers the opportunity to gather detailed user data which in itself can provide a valuable source of revenue.

Dr Chris Paton is Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Oxford and Hon Senior Research Fellow at the University of Auckland.

Image By sheelamohan

The classroom is a gift for the presenter - but not one we can afford any more for every student, all the time.

So we look to the Instructional Designer for help.

Ask the important questions

In discussion with a group of 7 instructional designers from the US, the UK and Israel at the recent Towards Maturity Learning Technologies eXchange, Allison Rossett challenged us to ask our workers the important questions:

• What do they say about our programmes?
• How would they characterise our programmes?
• Do they find them useful, engaging, dynamic, interactive, a way to contribute?
•  Would they stretch them?
• Would they enable success, build confidence and increase motivation?
• And above all, do they satisfy mind, heart and belly?!

Be insanely curious about work

The good instructional designer needs to be insanely curious about work, the worker and their workplace. they must be good at reflecting, a good and modern communicator and their solutions must be elegant and all about the learner themselves and their needs. One participant likened the Instructional Designer to Michelangelo. It takes the sculptor to bring out the image and beauty from the block of stone.

Strategies for design means the learning activities must be relevant and actually look like the work people do if they are to succeed. The group loved Allison’s example from the car insurance loss adjusters training in which they were presented not only with examples of cars in all states of damage, but as they progressed up the difficulty gradient, were also faced with actors playing increasingly irate and awkward customers!

Be clear about what 'good' looks like

Worked examples, illustrating successful performance, can help to set the goals that we are working or learning towards, so the good instructional designer needs to base the learning on evidence, stories, and best practice. Whilst needs analysis is crucial to understand the gap, we also need the picture of what good actually looks like.

Allison combines an academic but very practical and pragmatic approach to instructional design, continually challenging the group to question the causes of successes and failures, and tailor systems at work, in action and in context to achieve results. The 'targeted push' in which we tailor learning for specific people, contexts and situations  - the 'easy pull' where workers easily find and engage with what they need. 

Help workers recognise 'good'

The instructional designer doesn't have to be a subject matter expert, or a great artist or technologist. The ability to create a checklist or questinoning framework to guide the learner towards recognising the good example can be a really effective arrow in the ID's quiver.  ID solutions have to make sense - and add high value to the worker - so that they say: 'I could use that!' And after talking with Allison, that comment was echoed by all those around the table.

About Allison Rossett:

Allison Rossett is Professor Emerita in Educational Technology at San Diego State University. she has published widely on this topic, and recently also on Mobile Learning. www.allisonrossett.com
She has been recognised by the ASTD for her lifelong contribution to workplace learning and performance. Follow Allison on Twitter at @arossett

Allison took part in the Learning Technologies eXchange run by Towards Maturity and our partner Training Journal.Catch up with other #LT13UK eXchange sessions here.

Photo courtesy of Freedigitalphoto.net

In a lively, international discussion, Ben Betts led us through the different ways in which games may be used to support learning, and provided a whistle-stop tour of the current research in this field.

Ben introduced us to the six categories of games-based learning that he had encountered in his research:

1. Drill and practice
   An approach which is ideal for learning that requires simple repetition - ie. where retention is important. An important part of this is an element of challenge, such as beating the clock.
2. Serious games
   An approach which takes the attributes of commercial games but for a "serious" purpose. There are two scenarios where a serious game is worthwhile:
   • For situated learning - where it's important to replicate a particular environment and a high risk situation, where failure is not an option.
   • For cognitive development - where the aim is to develop deep understanding of principles, models and schemas. Eg. Fold It - a puzzle game about the structure of proteins.
     
3. Commercial off the Shelf (COTS)
   These are games, such as Portal 2 and Minecraft which were created for entertainment, but that have been adopted by teachers to develop understanding of complex concepts.
   
4. Alternate Reality Games (ARG)
   These have often been used in the context of marketing, but are starting to be adopted in a learning context. Given that marketing and learning are often both about changing behaviours, that's not surprising. ARG's take a mixture of fake and real information, both online and offline, to create a new reality in the mind of the audience. They are particularly good to help people explore human factors in situations.
   
   
5. Simulations
   There is a question over whether these are really games, and there is some cross-over with serious games. Much depends on how you define "game" and also, not insignificantly, the perception of the person "playing" the Simulation - whether it is treated as a game or not.
6. Gamification
   This is the process where a game-like characteristics is used in a non-game situation. Generally, these are included in order to induce particular behaviours in the participating people. However, it's important to be careful that gamification doesn't stimulate the wrong behaviours. Examples of these characteristics include:
   • incentives, such as recognition or reward
   • measurements of progress, such as levels
   • providing support or scaffolding at the point of need, and withdrawing it when it's not required (this is based on the concept of the Flow Channel - see below)

The Flow Channel

The concept of a flow channel maps the difficulty of a task against the ability of an individual to do the task.

If the person is significantly more able than the task requires, then there is the risk that they will become bored. If the task is more difficult than the person is able, then there's the risk that the person will become stressed. The ideal is a narrow band around the place where ability and difficulty are matched.

About Ben Betts:

Ben works at the intersection of business, learning and technology.  He specialises in Social and Games-Based Learning principles, with a focus on engaging learners in online collaborative learning.  Ben is the creator of the Curatr learning platform, which is used globally by companies and universities to engage their audiences in Rich, Active and Social eLearning.
 
He has an MBA, specialising in Organisational Change, and is in the final year of his PhD at the International Digital Lab, University of Warwick.  Ben regularly writes for journals and magazines in the USA and Europe and is contributing chapters to two books in 2012.

For more detail on the conversation and some of the ideas that came out, see the expanded version of this post on the Wyver Solutions website.

Ben took part in the Learning Technologies eXchange run by Towards Maturity and our partner Training Journal.Catch up with other #LT13UK eXchange sessions here.

Photograph courtesy of freedigitalphoto.net

I recently had the very great pleasure of hosting an eXchange session with Professor Stephen Heppell on behalf of Towards Maturity at Learning Technologies.  If you've not come across Stephen to date you are missing an enlightening and thought changing opportunity.

After a brief introduction to what is an incredible list of international achievements spanning 250 million hours of research in education and learning, we eagerly kicked off an exceptional discussion around the future direction of learning.

How can Professor Heppell's research inform corporate learning?

Each of our attendees was interested to understand how Stephen's research could shape and inform corporate learning activities.  To understand this you first need to comprehend the essence of Stephen's approach; he explained that the majority of organisations structure themselves around accountability and not imagination.  When you consider much of what an organisation needs is to be ready for the unexpected you can see the connection.

We explored some examples of how imagination has driven exceptional learning.  In London, a radical change of approach to setting up a new school; the children leading the design, using technology to conduct worldwide research, deciding on the furniture; recognising that people are all different shapes and sizes so opting for a mix of chairs.  Designing surfaces that could be written on to share their thinking and work. Open plan learning spaces with 3 teachers working in parallel, which proved much faster than individual teachers.  But what's particularly interesting is the results, children than had previously been excluded from other schools are now within 2 years, achieving A's and B's; out-performing the schools that had excluded them.  There was even an instance of the children breaking into the school over Easter to continue learning, what does that say about how they view learning!

In a similar vein Stephen described a project he'd been involved in where a corporate organisation recognising they had issues decided to challenge their youngest most dynamic talent.  They put the team to work in a basement to focus on making improvements to the company; what they delivered was the most useful changes the company had seen in 5 years and nothing they delivered had anything less than a hundredfold benefit.

Engagement and imagination are the secret weapons.

Everyone in the session was excited by the examples, but all trying to work out how you link this up and create connections into the corporate world.  Stephen went on to explain.  A key focus of his work is the set up a 0-21 school in the South of England, the concept being one single school until graduation.  The school is set up in completely different circumstances, situated on a business park, they have taken over a hotel, cinema and spa.  The environment is radically different to a typical school and is seamless to the normal world. They expect to be able to have children graduating with a degree between the ages of 16 and 17.  Stephen is so confident in the project that his grandchild is one of the pupils, not pressure then!

Learn with the learners

In a corporate sense Stephen explains the trick is to learn with the learners, if you learn with them then you change yourself. A challenge raised by the group was how to deal with the diverse needs of a mixed age workforce, Stephen's response; not to develop or deal with them differently but to enable learning from each other.  In the same way there are examples of companies learning from kids and kids learning from companies.  We went on to imagine how powerful combining the two could be.

Influenced by the 'moments of now'

Many things have changed over the recent past, the 'now' has become really important, Stephen explained kid pay lots of money to go to a concert, they wouldn't think twice about sharing music on their phone or computer now, but they wouldn't give away their tickets.  All tv now has real 'now moments' people being voted off shows, the growth of reality TV.  Ten years ago if you missed a formula one race you watched the recorded version later, now if you missed it, the 'now moment' has gone you don't bother to watch it.  Thinking and behaviour has moved on.

Stephen predicts a growing drive towards user led learning and the 'moments of now' will be what draws them in.   For this to happen two things need to exist a better way of membership and belonging and the ability to annotate and add to the community you can trust.  This goes beyond a community of practice and becomes the operating system.  You know who you can trust and where you can find trusted support.  Stephen is confident of the outcome and predicts that whilst we're not there yet the time is approaching and maybe in 18 months we'll see it happening.

So, how do you summarise such a rich and interesting discussion?  I could go on and on.  One thing was really clear, the opportunity for corporations to learn from Stephen's experience is wide reaching and compelling.  If you do nothing else, check out what it's all about.  http://www.heppell.net/

Professor Stephen Heppell

Professor Stephen Heppell, Chair in New Media Environments, Centre for Excellence in Media Practice, Bournemouth University, Visiting Professor Universidad Camilo José Cela, Madrid. Emeritus Professor Anglia Ruskin University and Executive Chairman, Learning Possibilities+.

Stephen took part in the Learning Technologies eXchange run by Towards Maturity and our partner Training Journal.Catch up with other #LT13UK eXchange sessions here.

Photograph courtesy of freedigitalphoto.net

We can no longer ignore the fact that organisations and individuals are expected to respond continually to change, and learning professionals now have a unique opportunity to support them. This presentation, delivered by Laura Overton, Managing Director of an independent benchmarking company at Learning Technologies 2013, looked at the latest research from Towards Maturity with 500 organisations to explore what we can learning from top learning companies who are successfully integrating learning into the workplace.

The session considered practical ways to:

• Respond faster to business change
• Increase the on-going sharing of good practice
• Improve the application of learning back at work
• Build talent and performance
• Adapt learning to individual need

 Bridging the gap 2013 from Towards Maturity

Ever been faced with the challenge of a subject matter expert that wants you to include every last scrap of detail in a course you are developing?  A not uncommon challenge but one that can be difficult to recover from.  Earlier I had the pleasure of hearing first hand how one learning professional has found an approach that is working well in his organisation.

Norman Lamont, accountable for Learning Technologies Innovations at Lloyds Bank, explained the challenge.  "A source of constant frustration was seeing page turning eLearning that didn't achieve what the subject matter experts wanted or what the business needed."  

Subject matter experts in the main can't be expected, and don't care to, understand good learning development practice nor the impact on cognitive load.  This led Norman to seek out a method of supporting a development process that focused everyone involved on achieving a business goal.  For Norman, Cathy Moore's Action Mapping Method delivered on all counts.

The premise is to start the process with the business measure you are seeking to change, this is the measure that will confirm your impact post intervention.  The model then drills into the activities that are carried out on job to support the business measure.  Finally this leads to what is the minimum information required for the individual to successfully complete the task or activity.

Sounds simple!  In Norman's case it provided the catalyst to help the subject matter experts understand the need  think differently about contributing to learning.  In the transfer of 30+ courses from face to face learning, the model delivered the majority with role contextualised solutions which dealt with real business dilemmas and problems.

Key to Normans strategy of implementation was showcasing what good looked like, every subject matter expert was invited to an action mapping session where they witnessed the process in action.  Norman provided examles via a template that demonstrated what good and bad looked like and continued to support the group as they stated to use the  methodology.

The initiative created an environment of subject matter experts who then came to meetings expecting learning to be scenario or case study driven.  A couple of words of caution; the model will not prevent that late senior manager intervention sending things off track, but can if engaging the senior managers early enough, provide the same refocus opportunity that worked with the subject matter experts.

Also consider if using the model with a hand off to external suppliers how you ensure they truly understand the concept of what the action mapping drives in terms of learning development outcomes.  As Norman explained, if you are expecting a discussion based exercise the last thing you want to receive is a series of self check questions that don't reflect the real world role.  Adding the methodology to your corporate toolkit and mandating it's use can help make sure everyone 'gets it'.

Norman has clearly come a long way with the process and as a result has seen his approach evolve and grow, once the action mapping is complete he now starts the process of development with the performance support tool and then centres the learning around how to use the performance support real time on job.

About Normal Lamont

Norman Lamont entered the world of digital learning in 1987. After launching computer-based-training in Britania Building Society and Scottish Widows, he joined the learning technologies team of lloyds banking group where he is now a Learning Technology Innovation Manager. Follow Norman on twitter @normanlamont

Norman took part in the Learning Technologies eXchange run by Towards Maturity and our partner Training Journal. Catch up with other #LT13UK eXchange sessions here.

Photograph courtesy of freedigitalphoto.net

We'd like to say a very big thank you to all the speakers who participated in the programme and to all the facilitators and delegates who contributed to the extensive and lively discussions.

If you missed the programme, we've summarised the discussions under 5 main themes below togeher with the twitter ID of the speakers so that you can continue to follow them.Do share this page with colleagues and don't forget to diary next year's eXchanges at Learning Technologies, Olympia, Jan 2014!

Preparing for the future of learning:

 ‘How can we prepare today for the learning of tomorrow? - Professor Stephen Heppell  @stephenheppell

• ‘What new technologies can we expect to see supporting learning in the next few years?’ - Professor Steve Wheeler @timbuckteeth  - coming soon!
•  ‘What learning activities do you want to capture that you can’t today? Which contribute to employee success?’ with Tim Martin – Rustici Software  @timpmartin - coming soon!

Building skills and supporting performance

•  ‘How can learning technologies help us build vocational skills?’ with Kirstie Donnelly MBE– City & Guilds - coming soon!
•  ‘How to design mobile solutions for the REAL world’ with Stephany Wilson – Sonic drive in & Jeremy Smith – Herman Miller - coming soon!

Intgrating learning and work 

• ‘How to win the hearts and minds of business leaders’ with Alison Innes-Farquhar @aif37 – HC-One and Nick Denholm – Mars Incorporated @ndwales - coming soon!

•  ‘What does it take to build a business-focused learning function’ with Simon Brown – Lloyds Banking Group @simoncbrown1 - coming soon!

Designing learning

•  ‘What are the habits and strategies of successful instructional designers?’ with Allison Rossett – San Diego State University  @arossett - coming soon!
•  ‘How can we apply game based thinking to increase learner engagement?’with Ben Betts – Warwick University  @bbetts
•  ‘How do we stop e-learning becoming a subject expert’s brain dump?’ with Norman Lamont – Lloyds Banking Group @normanlamont
•  ‘Is reflection the key to effective learning and if so, how do we facilitate?’ with Hans Dirkzwager – BT Learning Solutions @mirrorip 

 
Coaching and community

•   ‘Exploring the reality of moderating online learning communities’ with Julie Wedgwood @juliewedgwood

•  ‘What are MOOCS and what lessons can we learn from them?’ with Dr Chris Paton – University of Auckland @DrChrisPaton   - coming soon!
•  ‘How can coaching get more traction (and have more impact) in my organization?’with Michael Stanier – Bestselling author of Do More Great Work @boxofcrayons - coming soon!

Drawing on research conducted by Towards Maturity, learndirect points to general fear of technology and a lack of IT skills as major obstacles to effective training . Low confidence and a lack of awareness of technology-led training and the associated benefits are holding workforces back.

Despite the difficulties, many organisations remain committed to using new technologies to develop talent within their staff. The research from Towards Maturity, which informed the report and its findings, found: of those using learning technologies 98 per cent did so to increase access to learning and to make it more successful, 95 per cent wanted to share good practice and 94 per cent wished to improve the quality of learning.

Speaking yesterday at the Learning Technologies Conference in London, Dereth Wood, Group Director, Adult Skills at learndirect, shared her experience of introducing technology into organisations’ training schemes: “It’s clear employers place a significant value on learning technologies, recognising they broaden the reach of learning, improve the quality of training and represent value for money. However, for businesses to truly realise these benefits they need to address and overcome the barriers , particularly those related to employee engagement. Our report aims to help companies do just that.”

Drawing on learndirect's experience of helping millions of people learn online and the findings from the Towards Maturity research, the report outlines five steps companies can take to engage employees in using technology to learn new skills:

• Make a big splash to launch the learning and ensure staff know what to do next
• Spell out what everyone – from managers to the shop floor – needs to do. A staggering 50 per cent of all companies said that employees were reticent when it came to using new technology to learn so this is a real priority area
• Show people how to use the technology and make learning manageable
• Review learning regularly and keep managers informed. Towards Maturity research revealed that 40 per cent reported that staff’s IT skills were insufficient to make full use of learning technologies
• Promote successes to colleagues and celebrate together

Laura Overton from Towards Maturity said: "From our research with more than 2,200 organisations over the last 10 years, it’s clear many businesses continue to struggle when it comes to engaging learners with new ways of learning. We welcome this report from learndirect. With their experience of supporting more than 3.5 million learners, they have valuable insights to share which learning and development professionals in business would be foolish to ignore".

To download the full report visit www.learndirect.co.uk/business

Towards Maturity’s unique Learner Audit, is a survey tool that draws on a decade of learner experience and the data of Towards Maturity’s leading Benchmark Studies with over 2200 organisations. Through the analysis of its in-depth benchmark data, Towards Maturity has identified a number of key questions, that until now have been unanswered, to help businesses better understand how their staff are learning both formally and informally.

Designed for organisations with over 1000 employees, companies  can participate in a standard Learner Audit or choose to customise the survey‘s questions. The audit comprises of a short 15 minute online survey, which is conducted confidentially by Towards Maturity on an organisations’ chosen staff members.

Craig Taylor, Learning Technologies Manager at Bupa International, comments,

“At Bupa International, we regularly connect with our staff by conducting training needs analysis to uncover learning needs about a specific programme or to gather feedback on learning once completed. Whilst these activities provide us with insights about the delivery of the learning programme, it doesn’t always highlight what is really important to our people.”

Taylor concludes,

“The insights gained by Towards Maturity’s Learner Audit will help us facilitate learning in line with what individuals expect to receive. It will also help us support staff with the right types of activity, using the right media and methods, in a way that traditional engagement evaluation tools never could.”

The findings of the Learner Audit are conveyed in a detailed report and include a comparison of the perspectives of different groups of staff including leaders, managers and younger staff members. 

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity, comments,

“This is not just another learner survey to find out what a company’s employees think about their current L&D offerings, our Learner Audit is radically different. Our research highlights how 63% of organisations say that their staff lack skills to manage their own learning, yet fewer than one in five actually ask how their staff are using technology to learn currently. If L&D professionals are looking to build skills and support performance in a rapidly changing world, they have to challenge their own assumptions about their staff and start establishing the facts of how their staff learn and what they need to do their jobs better.”

The results of the Learner Audit will help when organisations are designing new learning and performance solutions, setting learning strategy and making a business case for change.

Mobile advertising, for example, already has a reach that TV can only dream about - the handset has become indispensable.

With industry forces such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook all staking their future on mobile, the power of engagement mobile devices bring is clear to see. 

While the L&D industry has been much slower than some industries to embrace mobile technology, research shows that the use of new mobile products for learning, such as the iPhone 5 and iPad, as well as the multitude of Android tablet and smartphone devices, is steadily gaining ground. The proliferation of such products is indeed the biggest driver for mobile learning.

Strategy Analytics estimates that there are currently over one billion smartphones in use worldwide with this figure set to reach two billion within the next three years. Meanwhile, according to the iPass Global Mobile Workforce Report, 64% of mobile workers now carry a tablet and 61% of a worker’s day is within range of a Wi-Fi network.

While infrastructure improvements such as 4G make it faster to download large quantities of data, it’s not just the evolution of technology driving the rise in mobile learning.

Hand in hand with this is the growing appetite among the Millenials for information on demand and this is only going to grow, with Bersin & Associates estimating 47% of U.S. workers will be under the age of 35 by 2014. The dynamics of today’s workplace is undergoing a seismic shift with a corresponding change in culture and expectations for learning anywhere, anytime, on any device.

While opinion is divided as to whether mobile learning has become truly mainstream, it is only a matter of time before the L&D industry catches up with other industries in its use of mobile technologies, particularly with HTML5 set to become the de facto standard.

HTML has long been the language of the internet. Currently, developers of online solutions have to completely rework content for different mobile devices but the widespread adoption of HTML5 will change this. HTML5 is designed to be platform independent – any device can read HTML5 so the same learning content can run on a tablet, smartphone or laptop even if all these devices run incompatible operating systems and different web browsers. Learning content will be far easier for learners to access and easier and cheaper for organisations to develop, enabling a more seamless cross-platform delivery of multimedia content.

All this combines to potentially form a huge market for mobile learning solutions. According to Ambient Insight Research, the worldwide market for mobile learning products and services reached US$3.2 billion in 2010 and is predicted to rise to US$9.1 billion by 2015. In comparison, the e-learning market is expected to increase from $32.1 billion in 2010 to US$49.9 billion in the same timeframe with mobile learning expenditure equating to approximately a fifth of e-learning spend in 2015.  

Mobile learning is already proving to have the potential to improve performance, productivity and engagement when part of a balanced learning strategy. A recent report from the elearning Guild shows half of all organisations are seeing a modest to very good ROI, while a further 43% said it was still too early to tell the level of ROI they are achieving.   

What is of key importance is ensuring that the right content in the right format is deployed for the right learning need. Mobile learning content can define success or indeed failure of a mobile learning strategy.

It is rare that reformatting existing e-learning modules for smaller screens will be a successful strategy. Instead, the best mobile learning solutions will make use of the devices’ features and functionality, such as a touchscreen, which can be a real asset in increasing learner engagement.

Mobile devices are particularly suited to shorter, bite-sized chunks of knowledge that are relevant, engaging and easy-to-digest on the go. They also provide an opportunity for content to be more interactive and media rich through the use of short videos and gaming techniques. While currently this may require the use of Flash plug-ins, HTML5 will offer a more seamless and universally supported experience for the user.

The use of bite-sized chunks of video in mobile learning, for example a series of 30-second clips, helps to build a story and context for the learner and can really help bring the learning to life. Indeed, we are increasingly using video for storytelling in the e-learning content we develop for our customers. The use of this in mobile learning is a natural progression, but it typically needs a different approach to fit with the ways that mobile learning is adopted within an organisation.

As technology continues to give more power to the mobile user and with the advent of HTML5, the floodgates for mobile learning are well and truly opening.

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Rob Caul is CEO of Kallidus the UK’s leading provider of learning and talent management solutions. To download Kallidus’ mobile learning whitepaper The future of mobile: 5 steps for developing a mobile learning strategy visit www.kallidus.com.

To find out more about our multi-platform learning solutions visit us at stand 153 at Learning Technologies, 29-30 January 2013, Olympia 2, London. 

The Learning Technology and Learning and Skills Show has to be the highlight of the calendar year for any learning professional, providing access to some of the best thought leaders and practitioners to anyone who attends. And it’s free-of-charge too!

However, with so much choice, it can be overwhelming. So, to help you plan a productive visit to the show, we’ve provided a round up of some of the not-to-miss events.

1    If you’ve not had a chance to digest the 2012 Towards Maturity Benchmark study yet, Laura Overton will be presenting the key findings in Bridging the gap - Integrating learning and work - a free half-hour interactive seminar on Wednesday 30th of January at 2.15pm Theatre 8 , L&S exhibition

2    Don’t miss the LT and L&S eXchanges – a chance to discuss your practical challenges in small groups with some of the leading conference speakers. These sessions are free, so book early to avoid disappointment.

3    Visit Towards Maturity on Stand 99 to book a discussion with one of our experts to review your own personalised Benchmark Report.

4    Pick up a series of handy checklists and Bright Ideas from Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors to help you save time and money back at work AND  Win a Microsoft Surface Tablet, courtesy of our founding Ambassdor Epic, when you’ve picked up 7 or more checklists  (see 3 above!)

Check out the free seminar programme  looking at mobile learning, performance support, compliance training, making learning alive, engagement, informal and social learning and so much more.

These are a few of  our favorites from our Ambassadors:

Tuesday 29th January 2013

5    10:45 - 11:15 Theatre 8 How HTML5 has fast-tracked mobile learning to the L&D party by Kallidus  REPEATED 30th January Theatre 2 15:30 - 16:00

6    11:00 - 11:30 Theatre 1 Online engagement: what to do if you build it and they don’t come by The Corporate eLearning Consortium 

7    11:45 - 12:15 Theatre 3 What does your next LMS look like? by Epic

8    11:45 - 1:00 Theatre 2 Ignite session: Making learning alive at work by Brightwave 

9    12:15 - 12:45 Theatre 6 Why won’t they comply? How to make compliance training powerful, persuasive, effective and fun  by Epic

10   12:30 - 1:00 Theatre 1 Six L&D challenges for 2013 by CERTPOINT Systems

11   12:30 - 13:00 Theatre 3 Designing content For iPads by Upside Learning Solutions

12   13:00 - 13:30 Theatre 7 Where to next in learning design and strategy? by  LINE Communications

13   13:15 - 13:45  Theatre 3 Multi Channel publishing/single source authoring: authoring once, outputting to many by Ontuitive

14   14:00 - 14:30 Theatre 4  An American and an Englishman get social: talking design, implementation and measurement of successful social learning by QA

15   14:30 - 15:00 Theatre 6 The question of content – how do we make it work-relevant?  by Brightwave

16   14:45 - 15:15 Theatre 3 From isolated courses to an integrated experience: Kineo and City & Guilds showcase ‘The City & Guilds Way’ portal by City@Guilds

17   14:45 - 15:15 Theatre 2 The 4 W’s of informal learning by SuccessFactors repeated on Wednesday 30th January 2013  Theatre 9 13:45 - 14:15

18   15:30 - 16:00 Theatre 2 Getting staff/people engaged with learning: the experiences of learndirect by learndirect

Wednesday 30th January 2013

19   11:00 - 11:30 Theatre 1 Compliance management: get the best out of your LMS  by IMC (UK) Learning Ltd

20   11:45 - 12:15 Theatre 2 Tin Can experience: how we learn and work by Brightwave

21   12:30 - 13:00 Theatre 1 Moving to mobile for learning and performance by CERTPOINT Systems and e-Learning Manager, Sonic, America’s Drive-in

22   12:30 - 13:00 Theatre 3 Everyone, everywhere, at any time! How to adapt your learning strategy to reap the benefits of a multi-device world by Epic

23   12:30 - 13:00 Theatre 4 E-learning empowers business change at Daiichi Sankyo UK by Acteon Communication and Learning

24   13:00 - 13:30 Theatre 7 How performance support changes a learning organisation by Ontuitive

25   13:15 - 13:45 Theatre 2  Getting your mobile strategy right by LINE Communications

26   14:45 - 15:15  Theatre 4‘’An absolute winner’’ – how to develop e-learning that improves performance (and delights your CEO)by Toolwire

27   15:30 - 16:00 Theatre 2 The future of mobile within learning  by  Redware Limited 

 
All of these events are free - you just need to register for the Learning Technologies exhibition here.

Many of them were at Learning Technolologies this year and we’ve persuaded them to distil some of their ideas into practical handy checklists. 

Getting the best from mobile learning

• 5 multidevice success stories by Epic, 
• 5 steps to achieve multiplatform content by Kallidus 
• 8 areas where your mobile strategy can help you add bottom line value by LINE Communications
• 10 tips for elearning on ipad and other tablets by Upside learning, 
• 5 top tips for unleashing the power of BYOD in your workplace by Redware
• 10 tips to implement mobile learning by IMC

Making performance support and social learning work for you

• 10 reasons to not give me training! by Ontuitive
• Top tips for scalable collaborative learning using social media by QA
• 10 top tips for moving 70:20:10 from concept to reality, by Fusion Universal

Improving talent management

• 10 top tips to improve talent management by Successfactors

Building real skills

• 9 ways to build online experience to help individuals practice and perform by Toolwire
• 7  tips for using learning technologies to build vocational skills by City & Guilds 
• 25 tips to manage time and communication by Corporate e-Learning Consortium

More great implementation ideas

• 10 top tips for learning and development success in 2013 and beyond by CERTPOINT 
• 10 tips for engaging staff with learning technologies by learndirect
• 11 bright ideas for empowering communication across borders by Speexx 
• 5 pactical stepls for achiving widespread adoption of learning solutions by Acteon
• 5 ways to make workplace learning personal dynamic and relevant by Brightwave
• 15 lessons learned from award winning charitiy elearning - by the Charity Learning Consortium

The expectations from learning technologies are higher than ever this year, but achieving success across all the drivers for implementation will mean a step change in behaviours for many organisations.

Mature implementation approaches help organisations realise that potential. When we compare the results reported by organisations in the top quartile of the Towards Maturity Index with those in the bottom quartile of the index, we find that top performing organisations are:

7x  more likely to report:

• Improved staff motivation and employee engagement
• Improved talent/performance management
• Increased  ability to tailor programmes to need
• Staff able to apply  learning faster
• Improvements in productivity

3x more likely to report:

• Improved ability to prove compliance
• Improved induction processes
• Reduction in time away from job
• Reduced training costs

Benchmarking against the best

Twice as many top performing organisations actively use formal benchmarking as a performance improvement tool compared with the sample as a whole. Furthermore, 1 in 2 informally benchmark their learning strategy and practices against other companies in their industry sector (21% overall).

The Towards Maturity Benchmark allows organisations not only to compare their implementation with others, but give a breakdown of areas of strength and weakness in the 6 workstreams of the Towards Maturity Model that characterise top performing organisations.

These six workstreams of effective practice are at the heart of the Towards Maturity Index (TMI) . The Towards Maturity Index is the single index figure from 1 – 100 that each participant in the 2012 study received to benchmark the maturity of their implementation of learning technologies against these six workstreams.

The Towards Maturity Benchmarking process provides a personalised report  to help  L&D professionals to not only compare their implementation approaches and results with the top performers, but also track their developments over time. The benchmark process and TMI allows you to review your own progress, compare your results with the top performing companies to identify your own strengths and weaknesses and then to ACT on the findings.

Organisations that completed the benchmark study in 2012 were provided with a free personalised benchmark report (valued at £300) in August or September last year outlining strengths and weaknesses compared with the 500 organisations who took part in 2011. Chapter  6 in the 2012-13 benchmark report below provides comparison data for 2012.

How to use your Personalised Benchmark report to support your 2013 strategy.

If you are one of the 400+ recipients of a personalised benchmarking report in summer 2012, the data outlined in table 8 and 7 in the 2012-13 Industry Benchmark Study below (page 46) give a direct comparison with current data.

• If your score in any workstream or action area falls below the 2012 average – pause and reflect on what the cause of this might be. Revisit your responses and consider those statements where your scores were lowest. (www.towardsmaturity.org/mybenchmark) What are the priorities for action moving forward?
• If your score is over the TM Benchmark 2012/3 value – well done! However, consider the drivers for adoption of learning technologies in your organisation – are you achieving the benefits you hoped for? Can you set goals for achievement in the short term?  

Performance accelerators

To kick start the process, we have identified a number of areas that might be worth considering in 2013. Certain factors within each workstream appear to be ‘performance accelerators’ – setting the high performing organisations apart. Whilst we expect those in the top quartile to be leading the way in terms of implementation strategy for example, there is a disproportionate increase in programme impact as a result.

NB. The TMI has been calculated from all implementation behaviours in the TM model. As a result those in the top quartile of the TMI, by definition, will score higher across all of the action areas within this model. However, we found a number of specific actions within the Towards Maturity Model were at least twice as likely to be implemented in top quartile organisations than in any other quartile. This ‘accelerator’ pattern is illustrated in this graph.

Accelerators include the following where top learning companies (compared to the average) are at least twice as likely to:

• Set an organisational wide strategy for technology enabled learning
• Ensure that the strategy allows for changing business priorities
• Support career aspirations (or personal job goals) with technology enabled learning
• Influence their organisation’s social media policy
• Integrate learning technologies into the way they performance manage and appraise people
• Audit the skills of their L&D staff against those required.

Not too late to benchmark

You can benchmark your current approach with your peers by discovering  your own Towards Maturity Index (TMI) – a measurement of good practice in their organisation and view your progress against the 6 work streams of good practice via our benchmark centre.  www.towardsmaturity.org/mybenchmark.

If you are not already registered  to this site, you will need to do so to download the report below.

Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti

This includes using learning technology to share good practice; improve talent, staff engagement and performance; respond faster to business change, and speed up the application of learning at work.

The study shows that the proportion of training budget allocated to technology increased from 18% in 2011 to 20% in 2012. The biggest technological changes over the past year were in the use of rapid application development tools (up from 44% to 59%), enterprise wide information services (up from 54% to 64%), user generated content (up from 31% to 41%), mobile devices (up from 39% to 47%) and virtual meetings (up from 65% to 74%).

A quarter of the organisations surveyed are now developing mobile apps for learning - an increase from 20% in 2010 - with 30% of organisations encouraging individuals to use their own devices to access learning opportunities and 31% providing learners with mobile devices.

If the learning and development professionals who’re responsible for determining and delivering improved corporate performance through learning also have access to these mobile devices, they could benefit from an e-book called ‘Perspectives on Learning Technologies’. Published by The Endless Bookcase and available on its website as well as Amazon, this e-book contains over 200 pages of wisdom and wit gathered from some 20 years of discussion and discovery in the learning-technologies industry, particularly as it relates to the corporate learning world. Its contents can be used to help readers in the planning, practice, and politics of learning and development (L&D) in their organisations. They can also spark readers’ thoughts and theories to help them achieve more with less in a shorter time - and all the other things that L&D professionals are supposed to do.

Praised as a ‘valuable reference’ by Donald H Taylor, Chairman, Learning and Skills Group, the key premise underpinning the e-book is that times change, technologies change, and learning technologies change - but people remain human. L&D professionals trying to meet their organization’s objectives face the same challenges that L&D professionals have always faced. These days, there are many more options and (technology-based) tools; so these challenges can seem harder and the dangers of making a mistake appear to be greater than they used to be.

For example, 95% of the study’s respondents want to use technology to share good practice, only 25% are currently achieving this. In addition, 92% of organisations want to use learning technologies to respond faster to business change but, again, only 25% achieve this; 94% of organisations seek to speed up the application of learning into the workplace but only 23% achieve this - and 91% seek to improve talent or performance management, but only 20% achieve this. Laura Overton, Towards Maturity’s Managing Director, commented: “There’s still a huge disparity between what companies hope to achieve and what they’re actually achieving.”

Maybe studying ‘Perspectives on Learning Technologies’ might help?

Brief Summary of Perspectives on Learning Technologies by Bob Little

After a remarkably brief ‘short history of mass communication’, Perspectives on Learning Technologies offers insights and advice on the challenges that L&D professionals face.

It contains chapters on best practice in learning; coaching and mentoring; delivering learning; developing learning; evaluation; learning design; learning technologies; learning; managing learning; mobile learning; online learning; systems; tablet learning; technology for tomorrow; uncertainty, learning and change management, and using games and simulations in learning.

There’s also an appendix chronicling some key moments on learning technologies history since 1992. Since the book contains some 248 pages, there should be something in it – somewhere – that is relevant to any L&D issue.

‘Perspectives on Learning Technologies’ is available on Amazon (price £6.48 + VAT).
 
It’s also available on the Endless Bookcase site (price £6.28 + VAT).

The Towards Maturity Benchmark Study report entitled ‘Bridging the gap – integrating learning and work’, can be downloaded  free of charge here. 

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This article was supplied by Bob Little. Bob has pursued a number of parallel careers. He’s probably best known as a writer, commentator and business-to-business public relations practitioner. In particular, he’s spent the last 20 years or so writing and commentating on learning technologies – especially corporate e-learning.

His work in this area is published around the world, including the UK, Continental Europe, the USA and Australia. Since 2010, he has published annual lists of the ‘top ten movers and shakers’ in the corporate e-learning world, covering ‘the World’, ‘Europe’, ‘the UK’ and ‘Australia-Pacific’. Bob is a regular tweeter (@BobLittlePR) and blogger – both as a guest, for example, on the APM Group blog and on his own blog.

www.learningtechnologies.co.uk

Learning Technologies eXchanges 2012 at a glance:

• Full agenda for exchange programme is now published below
• Book your place at the show on Stand 99 (for LT exchanges) and Stand 312 (for L&S exchanges) or just turn up 5 minutes before the exchange is due to start to join in (spaces allowed!)
• Make a note to join the Tweet-up at 12.45 each day - open to all!
• eXchanges is free to participate for anyone registered to attend the Learning Technologies or Learning and Skills exhibition at Olympia 29th and 30th January - follow the links to register for the exhibition
• Watch this space for a series of blogs following the eXchange sessions.

So, what is the eXchange?

Training Journal have teamed up with their research partner Towards Maturity to bring you the Learning and Skills and Learning Technology eXchange on the 29th and 30th of January at Olympia 2.

This is the second year that Learning Technologies and Learning and Skills are hosting an official eXchange to give the learning and development community a chance to meet, network and collaborate at the event. eXchanges will provide a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with speakers from the conference. 

The eXchange provides an opportunity for L&D practitioners who are visiting the show to directly meet the conference speakers to exchange practical ideas and experiences around themes being discussed in the conference.

A chance to get up close and personal with conference speakers!

The feedback that we received last year was unanimous: What a great idea! Like all great ideas, it's simple and straight forward, but incredibly effective. Each eXchanges will take the form of an informal, face-to-face group conversation looking at answers to practical questions that will stimulate innovation and creativity in learning and development. The eXchanges will last over an hour and their USP is that each one will be lead by an industry-leading expert who is speaking at the conference. 

Every eXchange will give you unprecendented access to much respected industry leaders and conference speakers. Here's your moment to air your questions, problems and even solutions to your e-learning colleagues.

eXchange ideas with peers at the conference tweet up!
For those in attendance at both the conference and the exhibitions, the eXchange will also host the event’s official ‘tweet ups’ at 12.45 each day. These scheduled sessions are an informal opportunity for attendees to meet up with existing contacts, network and meet new people.

Who can you meet?
Below are just some of the speakers that you can meet at the eXchange but to avoid disappointment we suggest that you confirm your free space* today by registering here. (please note that this list maybe subject to change)

The programme provided plenty of opportunities to share ideas and hear new perspectives but we also wanted to provide a unique opportunity for delegates to get together in an un-conference format and help themselves as well.

On the second day of the conference I joined 24 people at a Business EDUCA crowdsourcing session facilitated by Charles Jennings to enable us to reflect on what we’d learned so far and to draw on the experience within the room to help each other solve outstanding business challenges. 

How did it work?
Participants were presented with 6 themes that had emerged from the Opening Conversation and were asked to add any additional themes and then vote on the top 4 that they wanted to concentrate on over the next one and a half hours. The themes chosen by participants were:

1.    What are your specific challenges for measurement of impact? What ideas do you have to address them?
2.    What advice can you give to help move from a ‘push’ model of learning to a ‘pull’ model?
3.    How can you engage managers more effectively with learning?
4.    Talk about one example of good practice you have implemented or know about – and how success was shared?

We were then divided into 4 groups. Each group was provided with a question to research within the room.

Each of us then participated in a series of short one-on-one interviews with members in other groups. I was in group 1 and had interviews with 3 people from groups 2, 3 and 4. In each interview I had 5 minutes to ask my colleagues about their perspectives and experience on my question and they in turn interviewed me about my views on their question.  

After 3 rounds of questions, each time meeting someone from a different group, we gathered together with our original group members to compare the answers.

Between us in each group we had gathered the opinions of 75% of the room on our specific topic and we consolidated our findings to present back to the rest of the participants. It was a powerful learning and networking experience, carried out at speed, with lots of new ideas, sources of research and case studies generated through the process.

Here are the crowdsourced ideas from our discussions – we hope you find them helpful as well.

Interview 1 – What are the challenges in measuring the impact of our learning solutions and how can we do this more effectively?

The crowd highlighted the following challenges of demonstrating value of learning:

How do we know what success looks like?

• How to overcome the challenge of understanding impact once trainees have left control of training as there are too many other factors
• The challenges aren'’t just about measuring impact but the need to demonstrate value more effectively.

How can we do this more effectively?

•  The power of questions - Smart use of surveys – we shouldn’t concentrate on ‘ did you like it?’ but ask relevant questions e.g  To what extent has your confidence increased as a result? Have you been able to do XYZ since completing the training?

• Ask managers – has the performance, attitudes or behaviours of your staff changed as a result (360 degree appraisal)?
• Ask customers – has your experienced of working with this company changed?
• Encouraging staff to log their achievements and behaviour change after the programme
• Use of e-portfolios or learning logs
• Use of action learning communities where they work together after the programme and share results with peers on line
• Sharing lessons learned online following the programme

It is difficult to measure direct impact but that shouldn’t stop us tracking progress against important business outcomes. Examples of how to do this included:

• Track data that is already being tracked and is important to business e.g. customer satisfaction, sales, attrition rates
• Consider incentives linked to directly performance. The example was given of an L&D manager agreeing with the line-of-business manager that they would all be measured and bonuses paid on the direct impact of Customer Satisfaction statistics. This ensured that everyone – L&D and business managers - were all working towards the same goal and supporting each other in achieving it

Interview 2- How do we shift from a push model to a pull model of learning?

• Get managers involved by helping them to understand the value and benefits of continuous learning
• Help teachers and trainers to understand their own role and the benefit of a model of learning that is pulled by learners e.g. their role in:

                     o    Engaging the learners with new techniques for learning
                     o    Providing learning credibility
                     o    Curation by experts  and simplifying the learner experience

• Help Learners to see the advantage of pulling down learning when and where it is needed e.g.:

                     o    Help them understand how relevant the content is to their job
                     o    How the content is related to their task in hand
                     o    How the content is related to their job, to their objectives, to their business

• Access to information must be easy, clear and simple

                     o    Delivered in a system that filters the information that should be pulled
                     o    Delivered in a process that is not complicated and requiring multiple logins

• New ideas are best introduced in a blended approach
• Crowdsourcing value:

                     o     Encourage peer reviews to demonstrate value =  if it has lots of reviews - 5  star others   will come, e.g. amazon /tripadvisor
                     o    Content created by the crowd

Interview 3 - How do we engage managers more effectively?

What are the challenges in engaging managers?

• Need to understand that some managers believe that ‘workers should work and not learn’ – starting from this basis helps us to identify how we can support them better
• Need to spend time with managers to understand what their needs are in order

                      o    To answer the question “What’s in it for me?”
                      o    Get their attention – do they even know about the problem?

• Manager’s own learning experience e.g. via the classroom or of a poor online experience, will colour their perspectives.

Solutions discussed:

• Keep managers informed about the progress throughout, not just at the start
• Lead by example – consider how you can introduce new learning approaches to managers to extend their own learning experience - the use of mobile, sharing peer-to-peer, discovery of just-in-time online content. Once they have experienced the personal benefits, they may be more inclined to encourage staff to engage
• Use research wisely to engage them e.g.:

                    o    Help them understand the importance of their role. e.g. the Broad & Newstrom research highlights that the managers’ roles before and after a learning intervention is the most powerful influencing factor in encouraging new behaviours and improving performance in team members
                    o    Highlight their influence on performance - Corporate Leadership Council research highlighted that managers who are effective at developing their people and their teams find their teams outperform those with managers who are not effective at developing their people by 16%. Their performance goes up a further 9% simply through better attitudes and behaviours
                    o    Use independent research to open up conversations about the bottom line benefits of innovative learning approaches e.g. the Towards Maturity 2012-13 Benchmark study.

• Use managers’ experience and build into training, let them lead by example

Interview 4 – Tell me about an example of good practice

• Encouraging innovation -The Scottish Social Services were looking to find solutions to chronic issues in the workplace. Staff were invited to contribute on an ideas Platform and were asked to identify quick wins and short tem actions to common concerns. These were then refined. The L&D were pivotal in engaging the groups with the ideas platform
• Crowd learning - An example of a young masters programme in secondary schools. Students met local teachers and peers offline and then came online to share ideas within global classrooms. The process provided instant feedback and connected local learning within a global community
• ICT skills by stealth - One school encouraged children to learn to use the computer by providing them with an interesting offline challenge/experience e.g. create a rap song or in participation theatre - and then asking them to use the computer to reflect on their experience. As a result they learned indirectly how to use the computer. This demonstrated that if you change the context you can encourage individuals to pick up the skills.

Over 76% of the 600 companies surveyed in 2011 by Towards Maturity planned to implement mobile learning in the next two years. The results of the recently released 2012 Towards Maturity Benchmark Survey show an even further increase towards apps and mobile.

Meanwhile, our own research within the defence, automotive and medical sectors indicate that the more intimate relationships users tend to forge with their mobile devices (as opposed to their desktop PCs) make people far likelier to use them for a variety of knowledge-related work activities, ranging from learning to fast information search. Mobile smartphones and tablets, it seems, are becoming a major driver for the uptake of technology-supported learning and communications in large organisations now. However, they are also widening the scope of what we actually can do.

As organisations gear up to support this spectrum of knowledge-related activities at enterprise scale, they find they have to make choices about their development route. Some would present this as a fork in the road – and tell them that they have to choose between a ‘native app’ route and the possible alternatives offered by responsive web design. However, we think this is a false dichotomy. Really, it’s like comparing apples with pears. Your mobile strategy may need to include both, depending on what it is you need to do.

So let’s take a look at the key choices around deploying native apps and responsive design.

Two routes, two fruits?

First a brief definition of terms:

‘Native’ apps - Acquired through an app store, these are designed to use the native capabilities of each device such as geolocation, video, etc. and in the past have had to be developed separately for each device/OS (although tools now exist to make this easier).

Mobile optimised website - Accessed through the device’s browser, this route involves compromises on use of native functionality but does not require tailoring for individual devices. Using the relatively new practice of responsive web design made possible by HTML5, you can create screens that automatically reshape themselves according to the user’s particular device.

The table below gives a summary of advantages and drawbacks to each route:



Unfortunately, the situation is a little more complicated than this summary might suggest. There are many types of ‘hybrid’ app that combine elements of both routes. What often appears like an app, in that it is published through an app store, can be merely the ‘front end’ for what is actually a mobile-optimised website. Similarly, many native apps will draw much of their content from live web sources, meaning that the app does not have to be republished to refresh or update the content (our own  LINEstream platform works like this).

UX is king

An important thing to hold on to, however, is the superior user experience offered by native apps, which even hybrid approaches will struggle to match if they are essentially web-based. The differences here are sometimes subtle but also non-trivial. The recent history of e-learning has showed that compromising on user experience – as was sometimes the case in the rush to adoption of rapid e-learning – can be a fast route to failure, with the learners rejecting the learning.   

Anyone with a smartphone or tablet ‘knows’ how apps deliver a different experience to accessing the web. Our experience is that this makes a big difference to whether people will return. When they do return - and the app is already updated - it provides a sense of immediacy and responsiveness that really is the ‘best of both worlds’.

The fact that it works off-line as well is a crucial point. With the best will in the world connectivity is not always possible and it is in those ‘unconnected’ times when you might have a moment to concentrate.

A map of the territory

Taking into account everything I have said so far, it will now be plain why LINE has felt it essential to create a sophisticated offering for mobile learning and communications that comprehends both development routes. (You would want your greengrocer to sell both apples AND pears!)

 
For responsive web design LINE offers a framework called the Responsive Content Framework (RCF). This is written in HTML5 and you can read more about it here.

For native app creation and publishing we offer LINEstream. This gives you the superior user experience of native apps, but also, through its hybrid nature, the immediacy of instant updates.

• Usable in-house after one days' training so that you can scale speed and the power of authorship throughout the organisation
• Created from a platform, so scalable across your organisation, agencies and SMEs
• Consistent use of brand and navigation
• Secure (for confidential information)
• Hybrid, so no need to download the app again to get updates out across the network.

Some examples of use of both RCF and LINEstream/native apps

RCF:

• A large pharmaceutical sector client needing compliance training delivered to mobile (inc Blackberry) and desktop. Mostly to people at desk or in Wi-Fi area
• A global accounting firm with existing, secure mobile distribution with large Blackberry population

LINEstream/native app:

• Mobile ‘hub’ for automotive dealers worldwide training dealer staff but providing easy means to demonstrate difficult-to-show technologies to customers whether in or out of Wi-Fi or mobile signal – but constantly updating
• Training for service personnel in Afghanistan via a two-player or multiplayer game on tablets or providing instant Afghan (spoken) phrases in 2 dialects
• Procedure in hospitals for dealing with rarely seen pelvic breaks of fractures via the IPAD.

Conclusion

Mobile is a critical channel in meeting the need for speed and the increasing complexity that today’s organisations have to deal with. Mobile can provide that speed – with appropriate tools, workflow and services in place – but you also need a flexibile capability to manage complex knowledge environments.

Sometimes you will need to produce fast apps, with a low shelf-life, that you can publish quickly across all platforms to get a message out. At other times you will need to craft immersive and highly personalised user experiences for particular groups. Your mobile capability should be able to handle these extremes – and all points in between.

Meeting these needs at scale means taking a strategic view and making some critical judgements about how you start to put the capability within your organisation to make mobile business-as-usual a genuinely powerful channel. This will involve a mixture of ‘DIY’ – what you can do yourself, so that you can turn things around quickly – and what products and services you need from an agency such as LINE.

We are happy to help you on this journey.

Piers Lea – CEO LINE Communications

E-enabled foreign language learning – rather business communications skills training – has experienced the strongest growth in this area, along with training for sales, marketing and basic skills. According to Towards Maturity, around 35 percent of organisations are offering foreign language training to their workforce and around half of these are now e-enabling them – 350 percent more than two years ago!

The upward trend of organisations using language technology is indicative of a global shift in recognising the significant long-term value of enhancing and maintaining communication skills. In an audit conducted among Senior HR managers and L&D professionals this month, ahead of Online Educa Berlin 2012, Speexx found that e-learning was used by organisations to deliver four key areas of content:

First, improvement in language and business communications skills (48.7 percent of respondents) and improvement of IT skills (41 percent). This was closely followed by improving customer service skills within the workforce (26 percent) and general business skills (26 percent). Interestingly, those same respondents considered their organisations to be multinational and multilingual (54 percent) and a further 66 percent of respondents believed that “business communication and foreign language skills were critical in determining organisational success.”

• Improvement in language and business communications skills (48.7 percent of respondents)
• Improvement of IT skills (41 percent)
• Customer service skills within the workforce (26 percent)
• General business skills (26 percent)

The focus on improved organisation communications is also echoed in the 2012 Towards Maturity Benchmark Survey*, which shows that over 43 percent of organisations are e-enabling foreign language skills training today. E-enablement of language training has experienced the strongest growth compared to all other skills listed, with a 350 percent increase since 2010, where only around 12% of businesses were e-enabling these skills.

Despite these trends, the challenge remains to find strategic solutions to maintain and develop staff communication levels once a course has ended. While keeping motivation and incentive alive for individual users is key, management teams still need to take the right steps to align their learning initiatives to practical day-to-day business needs.

Business alignment and long-term tactics to strengthen learning
It is essential to implement short-term strategies to keep online learners motivated throughout their course. Integrating a long-term strategy to keep those skills alive after the course has ended is equally imperative. Learning through a combination of regular assessments and review of competency levels with instructor-led support has been proven to ensure continuous skills enhancement. In fact, we have found that students using the Speexx performance tracking tool on top of our cloud-based learning system have a much higher motivation level and an average success rate of over 90 percent – an excellent figure compared to conventional language training methods or stand-alone e-learning.

Nevertheless, many organisations still lack a well-defined strategy for improving communication skills within their workplace. This is partly due to the pace at which organisations are evolving and partly due to budgetary and time constraints. Integrated learning systems provide a sticky productivity tool that can be used even after a course ends and also improve ROI on existing learning infrastructures. This may include templates, such as email communication, customer presentations and dictionaries with work-specific terms. All of these will support the ‘application’ of such skills in the longer term.

Communication skills training is not just about vocabulary or grammar exercises. It is about aligning training with an organisation’s individual circumstances. A course involving any form of communication empowerment initiative must be aligned to the practical needs of both the business and the user. In China, for example, businesses increasingly require their staff to have a good and understandable command of English and pronunciation is a high priority. In other countries, business needs may lean more towards productivity goals such as writing emails and conducting web presentations.

Incentives for empowerment
At the heart of the incentive to improve and maintain communication skills lies employability. We are facing a new age of training courses, where students communicate across borders in a virtual space with the help of integrated learning systems. The main incentive for students is the fact that strong communication skills lead to greater employability and career mobility.

By contrast, a common disincentive for students is the time required to actually maintain their language skills during work hours. Organisations can solve this by letting students devote practical time to maintaining their communication skills, e.g. by using work-related collaboration tools, such as web-based conference calls. Many of the world’s leading organisations are already successfully resorting to these tools. For example, one of the largest providers of web-based communication tools claims that it sells 60 million hours of work conferences per month – and this is just one provider!

Keeping it real and personal
When it comes to empowering communication in the workplace, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach and personalisation is crucial. Long-term success stems from keeping learning and development relevant to the daily working life of the organisation, whilst offering the appropriate support mechanisms at local level. The main challenge is to ‘keep it real’, avoid local classroom silos with just one teacher and allow staff to make regular contact in the virtual communication space with native speakers. Only in this way will they start to interact, apply their knowledge at a business level and build a true sense of empowerment.

*Towards Maturity Benchmark survey conducted between June and August 2012 http://www.towardsmaturity.org/article/2012/05/14/2012-13-towards-maturity-benchmark/

This article has been contributed by Armin Hopp.
 
Armin Hopp is Founder and President at Speexx, the provider of award-winning online corporate language training. The company operates in over 80 countries and has a worldwide network of more than 1,200 online e-coaches. Speexx offers an extensive range of innovative language-learning solutions and has delivered award-winning results for more than 7 million users worldwide.

Speexx is one of Towards Maturity's Ambassadors who support the work of our independent benchmark, ensuring the results are freely available to all.

In the judges’ citation, it was recognised that 'Laura has campaigned and worked tirelessly for over 20 years to improve the impact of learning technologies at work. She has driven business results, helping employers fulfil the potential for learning technologies at work. She has closed the gap between government policy and employer needs, supported excellence in the industry and encouraged effective good practices worldwide. Her ground breaking research has led to a comprehensive model of good practice freely available to any organisation helping them to navigate their way through industry hype and improve.'

On hearing about the award, Karen Price, CEO Sector Skills Council said, “We are pleased that Laura has won this award, she has made an enormous contribution to e-learning over many years. Her skills, knowledge, passion and leadership have brought together a fragmented sector, which is now making a real difference to the lives and skills of so many people.”

Nearly 500 people gathered to celebrate industry excellence at the E-Learning Awards gala evening on the 8th of November.  A record 43 bronze, silver and gold awards were handed out. The winners included six Towards Maturity Ambassadors - QA, Epic, Redware, LINE, Brightwave and Kallidus.

Laura Overton set up the Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme over two years  ago.  21 leading learning specialist companies make up the programme, which work together as ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practices, raising awareness and driving the whole learning technology industry forward.

Piers Lea, Founder and CEO, from founding ambassador LINE Communications said, “Laura is an enthusiast for our industry above all others. She has worked well beyond the call of duty to establish hard facts, figures and benchmarked best practice to support that enthusiasm. Anyone who enters this field and does not use the Towards Maturity data will be the poorer for it. When you see what she has collected you will marvel at both her vision and tenacity.”

Towards Maturity has for many years worked closely with the E-Learning Awards as a good practice partner. E-learning age supports the Towards Maturity Benchmark Study, the largest benchmark study of its type in Europe. This year a staggering 500 organisations took part in the study.

Laura Overton said, “I am so proud to receive this award. I am passionate that this industry learns from each other, especially when it comes to technology. That is why I started the Towards Maturity Benchmark Study nine years ago, my thanks to e.learning age for this prestigious  award and the 2200 companies that have contributed to my benchmark.”

The Towards Maturity Benchmark Study report entitled Bridging the gap – integrating learning and work, can be downloaded from November 22nd from http://towardsmaturity.org/shop/. On the same day you can hear the findings of the report on a Learning and Skills webinar, to register for the webinar please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TM12Benchmarklaunch

The report is free thanks to the support of the Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme which includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE Communications, The Corporate eLearning Consortium, successfactors, Redtray and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Speexx, Fusion-Universal, Information Transfer, learndirect, Toolwire, e2train,  QA, Ontuitive, MindLeaders, Upside Learning, IMC and Redware. 

To read more industry reactions to Laura winning the award visit http://www.towardsmaturity.org/article/2012/09/03/elearning-awards-2012-shortlist-announced/

That means being able to switch between devices depending on their location and need – perhaps starting a course on one device and completing it on another. As learning technologists, we need to support learners to embrace these types of new opportunities offered by mobile devices.

Enter responsive design
Responsive design is a term initially coined for websites designed to be accessed on multiple devices. If you’ve ever visited a non-responsive website on a phone, you’ll know it’s not ideal. You have two choices – either see the whole page with tiny text and buttons so small you can’t hope to tap the right one (unless you have fingers the size of toothpicks) or zoom in and try to make sense of the website by crawling around it as though you’re an ant on a massive game board. Responsive web design aims to avoid this by designing the website so it automatically adapts itself for users on smartphones with much smaller display areas.

Take a look at the Epic website and change the size of the browser, making it as thin as a smartphone. You’ll notice that the layout re-arranges itself so the text remains the same size and the site still has an intuitive layout.

But how does this translate to e-learning?

e-learning interactions must be rethought for smaller devices. At the least, they need to be laid out differently (for example with a portrait rather than a landscape orientation) to match the usage conventions associated with smaller devices, and images need to be rescaled. Interactions better suited to large screens need to be adapted for smaller screens so they remain immersive and interactive, but also usable.

At Epic, we use our GoMo authoring tool which has responsive design thinking built-in to its functionality. GoMo allows designers to divide the potential display area into rows and columns. On larger devices, designers use the grid to specify exactly where assets will appear on the screen. GoMo then uses best practice to automatically realign and redisplay those assets for smaller devices. This takes most of the work out of designing once for multiple devices.

But that doesn’t mean designers can simply put their feet up. Assets such as complex diagrams won’t take well to simply being shrunk – it becomes impossible to view the details. Here, a decision should be made about how to translate the content to a smaller device. That might mean reworking the image or keeping it full size and letting learners scroll across it. Other interactions, such as drag and drop on a PC, need to change to entirely new interactions for touchscreen devices – which reserve swiping for primary navigation.

Finally, think about overall course structure if you know you plan to deliver your learning to multiple devices. If a significant proportion of learners will be accessing a course primarily via smartphones, then keep topics shorter and overall navigational structure simpler.  

Multi-device learning doesn’t mean shrinking e-learning courses
Mobile devices not only come in different shapes and sizes – people also use them in different ways. Some devices we have with us all the time, others sometimes but not always. We may spend a long time at one sitting using larger mobile devices, but most (although not all) people tend to use smaller devices in much shorter bursts.

Responsive design enables you to serve up an identical course across multiple devices. This is great for learners who want to occasionally switch between devices as they complete a course, and for learners who find it more convenient to access e-learning courses on the move. Essentially, it lets you increase breadth of access for your courses and also offers learners flexibility and convenience.

What it doesn’t necessarily do is play to the key strengths of mobile devices. Learning that is optimised to make full use of smartphone potential is unlikely to look like a traditional e-learning course. Rather, it will offer learning in shorter bites, interwoven with just-in-time performance support, and will perhaps make use of the device’s native features, such as its calendar and GPS.  

Sometimes, it may be more appropriate to offer different experiences on different devices, for example the full course on PCs and tablets, and refreshers and performance support via smartphones. Mobile devices, which are always on and always with us, are perfectly adapted for helping learning transition from formal training interventions to on-the-go, just-in-time performance support.

Some key lessons for multi-device learning:

• Do integrate mobile into your learning technologies strategy based on learning needs and the learners’ device usage.
• Do adapt media and interactions; don’t omit and simplify.
• Don’t always offer the same course on every device by default – first make sure that this is what learners want.

This article has been contributed by Imogen Casebourne Director of Learning at Epic, UK Leaders in learning Technologies. Epic is one of Towards Maturity's ambassadors who support the work of our independent benchmark, ensuring the results are freely available to all. 

Imogen ensures that Epic’s learning solutions remain cutting edge and evidence based. She is also responsible for Epic’s thought leadership programme, which includes speaking at events and conferences, overseeing educational resources and engaging in research and consultancy for Epic’s clients.

Since joining Epic in 2004, Imogen has designed e-learning programmes, learning portals, large-scale blended solutions, mobile solutions and serious games. She led the team that won Gold at the E-Learning Age Awards for the BBC’s ‘Editorial Policy Guidelines’ and led the team that won Gold at the E-Learning Age Awards for Best Use of Mobile Learning.

Follow Imogen at @icasebourne
For all the latest news and free resources on learning technologies, follow Epic at @epictalk

This article has been contributed by By Rob Call CEO Kallidus (formerly e2train), one of Towards Maturity's ambassadors who support the work of our independent benchmark, ensuring the results are freely available to all. 

Rob has been CEO of Kallidus since 2002. During the past decade, he has helped to shape the e-learning industry by making e-learning accessible to mid-market organisations and has delivered year on year profitable growth through the provision of software systems, consultancy services and content development. Under Rob’s leadership Kallidus provides innovative trusted solutions to customers including Boots, the NHS, Nissan Europe, Transport for London and Eurostar. Rob holds a Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) having studied Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London.

Follow Rob on Twitter @RobCaul
Follow Kallidus on Twitter @KallidusLimited

Organisations across the world are adopting this framework to improve employee performance, output, reduce costs and ‘time to competence’. 70:20:10 is not about numbers or fixed ratios. It is a simple and extremely helpful approach for change to re-focus workforce learning onto where most of it
already happens – in the workplace.

70:20:10 is proving helpful especially in supporting learning professionals and their organisations to focus on workplace learning and develop a clear strategy for exploit informal and social learning approaches.

The framework helps organisations and their leaders achieve these objectives through focusing on increasing learning effectiveness, improving learning efficiency and making better use of development pportunities for all employees.

Watch a short video about the 70:20:10 framework here.

Charles Jennings , from the 70:20:10  forum and Duntroon Associates is one of Towards Maturity's Supporters , providing independent expertise to help shape the benchmark study over the years.

Join Charles on the 28th of November for a half day workshop

Attend the event and learn from top learning finance sector companies how to:

• Make faster decisions that will increase learning impact on business results
• Deliver greater value for money through learning innovation
• Engage learners more effectively and speed up the application of learning in the workplace
• Make faster decisions that will increase learning impact on business results
• Speed up the application of learning in the workplace
• Increase the sharing of good practice - understand how your current approaches compare with top learning performers in the sector and beyond

REGISTER HERE

First sector event of its type

Finance companies are under increasing pressure to not only address compliance issues and deliver greater business results, but to also provide greater value for money across the board. Technology can help, but does not always deliver.

Our event addresses the lack of independent insight based on sector specific benchmarking data to help us increase the impact of learning.  It will use the market intelligence of Towards Maturity’s unique benchmark data gathered since 2003.

Finance sector organisations are one of the top contributors to Towards Maturity’s benchmark. This briefing will be the first time that the new 2012-13 benchmark results have been unveiled and will be the only event where Towards Maturity will be digging deep into the findings on behalf of the finance sector.

At the event, there will be an opportunity to find out more about what some of the top learning performing companies including Thomson Reuters, are doing. There will also be plenty of opportunities to network and discuss the implications for addressing business critical skills areas and improving performance and results.

How to register

The new finance sector learning technologies briefing will be held on the 21st of November at Thomson Reuters, Canary Wharf, London from 8.30am to 10.30am.
The event is free but spaces are limited – if you hold a senior learning leadership role in the finance sector then please register your place as soon as possible at this link

 You will receive an email with confirmation and venue details in due course. If you are unable to come but would like to be kept informed of the results, please use this link to let us know.

Want to know more about Towards Maturity’s in-depth benchmark, watch this short video 

We know that our learners are different and all have varying learning needs, but do we really know what they want and need from our learning solutions, or do we just think that we do?

Over the last 4 weeks at LPI's Learning Live event, HRM Cologne, and last week during her 5 minute Ignite session at the World of Learning, Laura Overton has been exploring the danger of labelling our learners and what we can do about it.

If you missed Laura's session, you can catch up here on You Tube!

If you really want to get inside the heads of your learners, find out how to get involved with our learner audit.

Do take part in our mini poll to tell us how you find out what your learners want and need from L&D.

Photo courtesy of Davi Ozolin via Flickr

•   Uncover 70:20:10 with Charles Jennings at an exclusive preconference workshop - find out more here.
•   Speexx exchange - this free pre-conference event provides plenty of opportunity to network and share practical ideas on how learning can change today. Register directly here.
•  Learning innovation at Eskom - In the corporate plenary, Dr Terry Moss will be sharing ideas about how learning has had to change in South Africa's largest energy provider to deliver competitive advantage in a VUCA ( volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world.
•  Hands on Learning Cafes with popular speakers from last year - Nic Laycock helps you take away an action plan that will help you journey from idea to implementation. Boyd Glover from Dixon's will help you engage line managers in new approaches to 21st Century coaching.
• International perspectives from companies around the globe - find out about new learning models, learning at the speed of light, working in virtual teams. Hear from DHL, AccleorMittal, E-on, Dexia RBC and CapGemini.
• New Business Educa Lounge - if you want to hang out with like-minded people, share ideas informally or just catch up first-hand with conference speakers, the dedicated Business Educa lounge in the heart of the exhibition provides a great place to connect.

Don't take our word for it - here's what others are saying

 'Presenting within the Business EDUCA stream at OEB for the first time last year provided me with a great opportunity to both benchmark and network with like-minded business professionals. It was great to get feedback on the work that we are doing at Toyota and the whole experience of contributing as part of the programme provided me with new ideas, new contacts and new challenges to take forward into 2012. I would thoroughly recommend other corporates looking for new perspectives to get involved.'    Sann René Glaza, Senior Manager, Customer Service Training Center, Toyota Europe,

'I found the ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN conference last year to be of tremendous benefit by providing fantastic networking opportunities.' Boyd Glover, Head of Skills Training, Dixons Retail

Find out more about the 2012 ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN conference.

Book here

You can register ONLINE for the pre-conference workshops (28th November) or the main conference (29th - 30th November).

The conference takes place at the Hotel Intercontinental Berlin

Keep in touch with the OEB news:

•  Follow on twitter OEB12
•  Follow on Facebook  
• Join the OEB LinkedIn group 
• Check out this video - 

Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme is made up of 21 leading learning specialist companies including UK, German and Indian based companies . They work together as ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practices, raising awareness and driving the whole learning technology industry forward. They also share a common passion for ensuring that independent advice is freely available to all.

Towards Maturity’s annual benchmark is the largest international online learning technology study.  It provides its participants with personalised benchmark reports to help improve the impact of learning technologies in their organisations.  Both the study and personalised benchmark reports are free thanks to the Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme.

Dr Dirk Thissen, Regional Director of Northern Europe at IMC comments, “With more than four million people in over 1,000 companies and public institutions putting their trust in our products and service, we pride ourselves at promoting good practice. We are proud to support the outstanding work by Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors to increase learning technology good practice globally.” 

The 2012 Benchmark Study is currently analysing how organisations’ learning strategies are responding to uncertain economic times, including how this climate is affecting budgets, technology changes and the building of talent. It also looked at the impact learning technologies are having in organisations of different sizes and sectors. Furthermore it will uncover the hype verses the reality of learning technology trends, whilst detailing drivers, barriers and benefits.

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “We are delighted that IMC has joined our growing Ambassador Programme. We are seeing an increasing trend to benchmark not only in the UK, but internationally. IMC’s global perspective will be invaluable to help ensure that more organisations are aware of the effective practices that really make a difference.”

The Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE Communications, The Corporate eLearning Consortium, successfactors, Redtray and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Speexx, Fusion-Universal, Information Transfer, learndirect, Toolwire, e2train,  QA, Ontuitive, MindLeaders, Upside Learning, IMC and Redware. 

For more information on joining the Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme please email nigel@towardsmaturity.org

The in-depth report from the 2012 Benchmark Study will be launched on the 22nd of November in a joint webinar with the UK’s Learning and Skills Group. On the same day it will also be available to download for free from Towards Maturity’s online shop at http://towardsmaturity.org/shop/

About IMC
Since its foundation IMC has become an international leader in providing services and technology for learning, talent and new media solutions. With IMC’s applications and services, companies and public institutions of any size and sector can implement efficient and advanced education processes. Companies, academies and universities have all placed their trust in IMC’s many years of experience and the mature technologies.

IMC’s all-embracing technology and service offer – from managed services to learning and talent management technologies, performance support and the conception and development of custom-fit learning content, is supporting more than 1000 companies, public institutions and educational establishments of all sizes and in all sectors in the planning, developing, and implementing of mature HR development strategies.

Flexibility, systems integration and customer and process orientation are the main focus of IMC’s product development strategy. IMC’s products and services, which include the CLIX Talent Suite and CLIX Learning Suite, the Performance Management System LIVECONTEXT as well as the Authoring Tools POWERTRAINER and LECTURNITY, are an equal match for the diverse and individual needs of all organisations. In addition, IMC offers bespoke new media e-learning and a wide range of consultancy services in the field of learning and training management.A team of experts develops bespoke and standardized e-learning content in close collaboration with customers from all over the world.

The company, which has its headquarters in Saarbrücken (Germany), was founded in 1997 by Professor August-Wilhelm Scheer together with Dr Wolfgang Kraemer, Frank Milius and Dr Volker Zimmermann. IMC has branches in Munich and Freiburg, subsidiaries in Great Britain (Sevenoaks), Finland (Espoo), France (Paris), Switzerland (Zurich), Austria (Graz), Australia (Melbourne), Benelux (Amsterdam) and Romania (Sibiu).

With learning platforms designed to give customers best in class learning and devlopment tools to help a workforce thrive, Redware are making significant advances in changing the way companies across the globe operate.

Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme is made up of 21 leading learning specialist companies. They work together as ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practices, raising awareness and driving the whole learning industry forward. They also share a common passion for ensuring that independent advice is freely available to all.

Commenting on joining the Towards Maturity’s Ambassdor Programme, Andre Wigley, Redware CEO  said, “Joining the programme is a significant and exciting move for us and we look forward to sharing information and best practice as well as taking part in market research – it supports our ongoing commitment to working in a way that is truly revolutionary”.
 
Towards Maturity’s annual benchmark study is the largest international online learning technology benchmark study, highlighting effective learning practices from top performing companies  around the globe.  It provides its participants with personalised benchmark reports to help them improve the impact of learning technologies in their organisations.  Both the study and personalised benchmark reports are free thanks to the Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme.

The main benchmark report from the study will be launched on the 22nd of November in a joint webinar with the UK’s Learning and Skills Group. On the same day it will also be available to download for free from Towards Maturity’s online shop.

The study analyses how organisations’ learning strategies are responding to uncertain economic times, including how this climate is affecting budgets, technology changes and the building of talent. It will also reveal the impact learning technologies are having in organisations of different sizes and sectors. Furthermore it will uncover the hype verses the reality of learning technology trends, whilst detailing drivers, barriers and benefits.
 
Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “Our studies are highlighting how mobile learning is growing steadily and becoming established as a mainstream technology for learning. Redware, a market leader in mobile platforms, is a valuable additional to our unrivaled Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme. I’m delighted they have joined.”

The Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE Communications, The Corporate eLearning Consortium, successfactors, Redtray and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Speexx, Fusion-Universal, Acteon, learndirect, Toolwire, Kallidus,  QA, Ontuitive, MindLeaders, Upside Learning, IMC and Redware. 

For more information on joining the Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme please email nigel@towardsmaturity.org

About Redware

As a market leader in learning solutions, Redware are revolutionising the way we do business through learning management systems with a difference.  Designed to get the most out of the user experience, their platforms empower organisations to learn in a way that’s flexible and creates engaging learning journeys.

QA and Towards Maturity share common values including encouraging learning innovation that directly impacts results in the workplace, building on collective good practice and celebrating learning technology success.

Towards Maturity’s annual benchmark study is the largest international online learning technology benchmark study, highlighting effective learning practices from top performing companies around the globe.  It provides its participants with personalised benchmark reports to help them improve the impact of learning technologies in their organisations.  Both the study and personalised benchmark reports are free thanks to the Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme.

Giles Smith, Head of Strategic Client Solutions said, “At QA, our whole focus is on providing learning experiences to benefit individuals, teams and organisations.  We are proud to support the outstanding work that Towards Maturity does at driving the whole learning industry forward through their Ambassador Programme.”

The main benchmark report from the study will be launched on the 22nd of November in a joint webinar with the UK’s Learning and Skills Group. On the same day it will also be available to download for free from Towards Maturity’s online shop. 

The report will focus on how organisations’ learning strategies are responding to uncertain economic times, including how this climate is affecting budgets, technology changes and the building of talent. It will also reveal the impact learning technologies are having in organisations of different sizes and sectors. Furthermore it will uncover the hype verses the reality of learning technology trends, whilst detailing drivers, barriers and benefits.
 
Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “I welcome QA, their award winning quality and innovation is a valuable addition to the Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme. They share the same vision and values as our other 20 ambassadors.”

The Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE Communications, The Corporate eLearning Consortium, successfactors, Redtray and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Speexx, Fusion-Universal, Acteon, learndirect, Toolwire, Kallidus,  QA, Ontuitive, MindLeaders, Upside Learning, IMC and Redware. 

For more information on joining the Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme please email nigel@towardsmaturity.org

Digital technology can be a great enabler. It has created the smart learner. It has also created the smart customer who is connected, well-informed and brand-savvy. Competitors are one click away, as are peer reviews and information about products and services. Buying over the last two decades has become a more open process online and the binary relationship of customer and vendor is converging in the process. A recent IBM Report called Leading Through Connections frames this  'convergence of the digital, social and mobile spheres connecting customers, employees and partners in new ways to organisations and to each other'.

 If employees, customers and partners are being connected to each other, what are the opportunities and implications for supporting this process and what role can technology-enabled learning play?In this article, we explore how we can extend the learning environment beyond the organisation to reach customers and partners.

 Improving customer service and increasing loyalty

Increasingly, e-learning and learning technologies are being used as a way to provide better customer service and increase loyalty. The Towards Maturity Annual Benchmark 2012 reveals that 42 per cent of organisations are using learning technologies to support and educate the customer. 77 per cent state that improving customer satisfaction is a driver for investment. Only a third of this number is achieving a measurable result. However, those that are report an impressive 20 per cent improvement. It's evidence that developing a customer-centric learning strategy is worth the investment for solid business reasons. As a panellist at our Debate held at Learning Technologies this year,  Genny Dixon, Head of Research at Towards Maturity, says, "We should expect more from our learning technologies and, we should demand more".

Fellow panellist, Kenny Henderson, Head of Talent Development Operations at Sky, described how they have opened up their learning management system to the 'extended enterprise', to outsourced partners and their supply chain. The LMS has become part of the organisation's main architecture complementing the customer management system. Kenny also considered the disconnect of creating separate online content for employees and customers and recognised the opportunity to link these better.

The rise in online support networks

When the audience was asked, "How can organisations extend learning content to their customers and supply chain?" 44 per cent voted for 'online support networks'. Rather than focussing purely on specific pieces of content, this is a vote for a shared learning environment which exploits cloud-based technologies to extend performance support (aka customer service in this context) to customers and supply chains. Whether this is using closed forum software, web portal or social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook, there are major opportunities to improve learning and responsiveness across all stakeholders.

As organisations open up their networks and open up their learning - security and other risk factors apart - a shared vision across internal (employees) and external (customers) becomes increasingly important. The correlation between brand, employee capability, engagement and customer service becomes even clearer and more important. Learning technologies has a role to play.

Learning technology has positive role to play with brand and customer strategies

Early findings from a study that Brightwave has conducted in partnership with benchmark specialists Towards Maturity show that organisations embedding learning technologies in their brand and customer strategy programmes are:

•    8x more likely to say that their solutions are currently helping to provide a competitive advantage
•    5x more likely to report an improved reputation as a customer-focused organisation
•    3x more likely to report increased customer loyalty and customer satisfaction
•    2x more likely to report increased cross-selling/up-selling
•    5x more likely to use social media

As a result, 2 out of 4 businesses say their employees are now more engaged with the company and brand values.

Customer-centricity is a core strategic focus for the majority of organisations and customer service a powerful differentiator. Extending learning to the customer is a significant opportunity for L&D to create value for their organisations. IBM talks in terms of the Social CEO. Perhaps we need to talk in terms of the Social Learning Professional. Connected, collaborative and smart!

The Towards Maturity study in the use of learning technologies for end customers will be released in early October.
 
Other findings from the debate  looking at evolving content strategies can be found at

• Evolving content strategies part 1: The shift from course to resource

• Evolving content strategies part 2: The changing role of the learning designer

(editors note - we might be a bit biased here with a focus on the Towards Maturity Ambassadors, supporters and top performers in our benchmark but we think they have got some great ideas to share!):

Our pick of the conference programme

Don't forget that it's not too late for Towards Maturity Research community members still qualify for a 10% discount on the conference programme - just quote Towards when you book.

2nd October - Don't miss

• Opening Address,10:05 – 10:45 -How will L&D have to adapt to the changing workforce? with Caroline Waters OBE, Director of People & Policy,BT
• 13:40 – 14:25 -Reduce cost, increase performance, support growth. How can L&D deliver?withTim Drewitt, elearning Specialist, Eversheds; Robert Craig, HR Manager, Eaton Aerospace; Rachel Powell, L&D Technology Specialist, EDF Energy
• 4:30 – 15:30 -How people really learn at work – the 70:20:10 model in action with Boyd Glover, Head of Skills Training, Dixons; Steve Dineen, CEO, Fusion Universal (Best wishes to Boyd  he is shortlisted for an e-learning award in November!)
• A3 14:55 – 15:55 Learning and talent in the Cloud with David Wilson, Managing Director, Elearnity ( a TM supporter)  and Conrad Hamer, Business Development Manager, Jenison
• Keynote - 16:00 – 16:45 -Learning innovation with tomorrow’s technology tools Steve Wheeler, Associate Professor of Learning Technologies, University of Plymouth

3rd October -Don't miss

• M6 11:30 – 12:20 Mobile learning or mobile performance? with Ros Sutton, Learning Strategy Consultant, PwC; Sam Taylor, elearning Manager, Barclaycard
• A6 13:20 – 14:10 Technology not just to cut costs, but to add value withJames Snook, Online Training Manager, EST; Phil Green, Consultant, Onlignment
• A8 14:25 – 15:15 Collaborate and innovate to succeed in L&D with Lesley McGuire, Learning Technology Manager, Macmillan Cancer Support; Martin Baker, Founder, The Learning Consortium
• 15:20 – 15:50 finally please come and support Laura Overton in the final session of the day where she will be battling it out PechaKucha style!

Our pick of the exhibition

It is free to attend the exhibition just register here to save some time! There are lots of free seminars to attend where you can pick up practical ideas from the experts, here are some of our favourites:

Tuesday 2nd October

• 14:45-15:15 Nine challenges you need to solve to go mobile  with Dominic Mason, Head of Mobile, Line Communications
• 15:15-15:45 -Learning and development can drive business change with Owen Rose, Managing Partner,Acteon (previously Information Transfer)

3rd October

• 13:30-14:00 Three ways new technology will transform elearning content in 2013 with Martin Belton, Director, Ascot Communications
• 14:15-14:45How to set your learners free with HTML5 with Mark Bennett, Senior Content Developer, e2train ( again good luck to Mark as he's been shortlisted in the elearning awards as well!)

Don't forget to say hello to our supporters and ambassadors at the show as well:

• Charity Learning Consortium stend A180
• Corporate eLearning Consortium  - stand A180
• eLearning Network (eLN) - stand F80
• Acteon (previously Information Transfer) on stand  D210
• Kallidus (formally E2train) on E50
• LINE Communications Group on stand E170
• Redware on stand  E30 / TTD
• Training Journal on stand A250
• Upside Learning Solutions  on stand D250

Practical stuff!

The World of Learning is open during the following times:

Tuesday 2 October 2012:         10:00-17:00
Wednesday 3 October 2012:    10:00-16:00

Directions -The World of Learning 2012 takes place at:

Hall 3A, National Exhibition Centre,
Birmingham, B40 1NT

The NEC can be easily reached by train, car, plane, taxi or coach. For full directions visit the NEC website.

Information Transfer is making this change at an exciting time for the company. In 2012 it expanded its team and client list, and grown the scope and range of services it provide.

Information Transfer Managing partners Matthew Borg and Owen Rose are excited about the change. “Acteon captures a sense of the transformation and positive action that we are helping our clients achieve through effective communication and learning,” says Matthew. “And the success of these outcomes is demonstrated by the quality of our client relationships and the industry award wins we are achieving.”

“Our name may have changed, but who we are and what we do is still very much the same,” reflects Owen. “We haven’t been bought out, sold or merged! As Acteon, our highly experienced team will continue to provide the care, insight and agility that underpins all our client relationships.”

For e2train its rebranding effort also reflects the company’s growth and transformation. It also conveys its learning, performance and talent management capabilities and solutions approach to consultancy, technology and service excellence.

During the past few years, e2train has significantly developed and enhanced its market leading Kallidus Learning Management System (LMS), and today provides a fully integrated modular solution encompassing learning, performance, talent management and succession planning to customers in the UK and overseas. The company name change to Kallidus is a natural progression for the company which has evolved to provide software systems, consultancy services and content development.

Said Rob Caul, CEO of Kallidus Limited: “Our company has grown and evolved within the ever-changing learning and talent industry and we feel that the Kallidus brand, so well regarded for Learning Management Systems, will support our business goal to be the U.K. provider of choice for learning and talent solutions. Our commitment to providing outstanding customer service remains at the heart of our brand.”

“Our focus on providing integrated learning and talent solutions reflects the growing recognition among boardrooms that having the right skills in the right place at the right time is critical to organisational growth and shareholder value. Our solutions are all targeted at helping organisations build capability for the future and improve business performance through the development of robust talent pipelines and by closing skills gaps,” added Caul.

The new Kallidus branding is being unveiled during September with the Kallidus website (www.kallidus.com) scheduled to go live at the end of the month.

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “I’m delighted by these changes to two of our Ambassadors. Our research has shown how learning is increasing in value in organisations and these two outstanding companies are growing to meet the increased focus of learning at every level of the organisation.”

We are thrilled that Laura Overton became the first recipient of an e-learning age Special Acheivement award introduced to recognise individuals who have made a massive difference to the development of the e-learning community.

In the judges citation, it was recognised that 'Laura has campaigned and worked tirelessly for over 20 years to improve the impact of learning technologies at work. She has driven business results, helping employers fulfil the potential for learning technologies at work. She has closed the gap between government policy and employer needs, supported excellence in the industry and encouraged effective good practices worldwide. Her ground breaking research has led to a comprehensive model of good practice freely available to any organisation helping them to navigate their way through industry hype and improve'

The industry’s reaction to Laura receiving the award includes:

Piers Lea, Founder and CEO, from founding ambassador LINE Communications, “Laura is an enthusiast for our industry above all others. She has worked well beyond the call of duty to establish hard facts, figures and benchmarked best practice to support that enthusiasm. Anyone who enters this field and does not use the Towards Maturity data will be the poorer for it. When you see what she has collected you will marvel at both her vision and tenacity.”

Karen Price, CEO Sector Skills Council, “We are pleased that Laura has won this award, she has made an enormous contribution to e-learning over many years. Her skills, knowledge, passion and leadership have brought together a fragmented sector, which is now making a real difference to the lives and skills of so many people.”
 

Cheryl Clemons, Communications Director, from founding ambassador Brightwave, “Laura has worked and campaigned tirelessly over 20 years to improve the impact of learning technologies at work. During this time, through the successful legacy of the TM Benchmark and persistent promotion of good practice, Laura has led the charge for the industry to raise its bar, professionalism and profile. She has steered Towards Maturity, a Community Interest Company, through difficult times and impressively has created a network of 20 ambassador organisations that are now multiplying its impact. Not stopping there, Laura continues to build on industry recognition in the UK to represent the network internationally. This is excellent news for learning technologies good practice, market intelligence and expansion. Alongside an impressive collection of achievements, Laura is approachable, collaborative and fun to work with.”

Nigel Paine, Learning Technology Consultant, “Laura has worked and campaigned tirelessly over twenty years to improve the impact of learning technologies in the workplace. She developed the  Benchmark and used this to promote good practice far and wide. There is evidence now that this benchmark is becoming a world standard. Laura has led the charge for the industry to raise its standards and celebrate its achievements in embracing and promoting the use of learning technologies. Towards Maturity is a great organisation that has leveraged the support and commitment of over 20 Ambassadors who share TM's beliefs and philosophy. All in all, Laura is the perfect recipient of this award.”

Aneta Sokolwska, from ambassador Redtray Solutions, Marketing Executive, “We can’t imagine someone more hardworking and enthusiastic about learning and development than Laura. She makes learning initiatives exciting and motivates people to care about them. It’s especially visible in her contributions to various industry publications, events and Towards Maturity’s benchmarking.
Laura has worked with us on several important projects around cloud-based learning technologies. With her support and experience, we were able to conduct a study into the adoption of cloud technologies by business in the UK. It gave the L&D industry an invaluable insight into how different organisations are using the cloud and what problems they face when trying to adopt it for training. Her enthusiasm about the research and raising the profile of the L&D industry is never-ending. She’s a natural presenter and speaker and makes hard-to-take-in information easy to understand and engaging for her audience. During our time working with Laura, she was very approachable and open-minded, always with an encouraging smile. She’s a true inspiration and the L&D community would be a poorer place without her contribution!”

The Towards Maturity Benchmark Study is freely available to organisations thanks to our Ambassadors who share our passion for sharing good practice.

Our Ambassadors are thought leaders in their own rights as well. Competition for this year's E-Learning Awards was fierce with more than 200 entries but we are thrilled that our Ambassador's work was also recognised as they walked away with awards in 9 out of 18 categories:

• E-learning development company of the year - Gold to Epic
• E-learning industry award for outstanding achievement – corporate - Gold to Kallidus
• Best use of social media for learning - Gold to QA
• Most innovative new learning hardware or software product - Gold to Redware and silver to Epic's GoMo Learning
• E-learning designer of the year - Gold to Mark Bennett - Kallidus
• Excellence in the production of learning content – private sector -Gold to Epic and StarTraq and silver to British Airways and LINE Communications
• Best e-learning project - non-profit sector - Silver: Clyde Valley Learning and Development Group in partnership with Brightwave
• Excellence in the production of learning content – not-for-profit sector -  Silver to Epic and Resuscitation Council (UK)
• Best use of mobile learning - Bronze to Epic and Alfred Dunhill

Towards Maturity will be sharing effective implementation ideas from this year's winners through our  good practice partnership with e-learning age both in the magazine and on our site . Check out the stories of current and past e-learning award winners here.

In the meantime, we send our congratulations to all the winners:

Best use of mobile learning

• Gold: Intuition and the British Army
• Silver: The Learning Eye for Schindler
• Bronze: Epic and Alfred Dunhill

 Best use of rapid e-learning content

• Gold: AAT
• Silver: Make Sense Design and Fire Protection Association

Best use of social media for learning

• Gold: QA
• Silver: accountingcpd.net published by Nelson Croom
• Bronze: Jojo sucht das Glück (Jojo's Search for Happiness) by Deutsche Welle

 Best use of synchronous e-learning

• Gold: Virgin Media and ILX Group
• Silver: PwC - The Learning Technology Curriculums

Best online distance learning programme

• Gold: Willow Learning and The IPA
• Silver: Growth Engineering - Aggregate Industries - The Institute of Sales & Marketing Management

Best use of e-learning to ensure compliance with external regulations or internal policies

• Gold: SAI Global and CSR
• Silver: Mind Click and the Royal Yachting Association
• Bronze: Sponge UK and John Lewis Partnership

Best learning game, simulation or virtual environment

• Gold: ATL Practical Training
• Silver: OpenLearn, The Open University
• Bronze: PwC - The LT Consulting Challenge

Best e-learning project - non-profit sector

• Gold: HT2 and The Pony Club
• Silver: Clyde Valley Learning and Development Group in partnership with Brightwave
• Bronze: Wavelength and Ministry of Health

Best e-learning project – private sector

• Gold: ATL Practical Training
• Silver: Nikon and Kineo
• Bronze: LearningAge Solutions and Tarkett

 Most innovative new learning hardware or software product

• Gold: Redware
• Silver: Epic's GoMo Learning
• Bronze: LearningAge Solutions with goalgetter

 Excellence in the production of learning content – not for profit sector

• Gold: The British Psychological Society and Nelson Croom
• Silver: Epic and Resuscitation Council (UK)
• Bronze: Whizz-Kidz and Kineo

 Excellence in the production of learning content – public sector

• Gold: CCEA / Northern Ireland Assembly
• Silver: Dynamic and NHS Yorkshire & Humber SHA
• Bronze: NCALT - Human Trafficking 

 Excellence in the production of learning content – private sector

• Gold: Epic and StarTraq
• Silver: British Airways and LINE Communications
• Bronze: Media Zoo - Marks & Spencer

e.learning age special achievement award

• Laura Overton

E-learning designer of the year

• Mark Bennett - Kallidus

E-learning internal project team of the year

• Boots UK

E-learning industry award for outstanding achievement – corporate

• Kallidus

 E-learning industry award for outstanding achievement – individual

• Henry Phillips – Unicorn Training

 E-learning development company of the year

• Gold: Epic

• Silver: Atlas

Find out more about the awards here. Towards Maturity has for many years worked closely with the E-Learning Awards as their good practice partner.

Hundreds of leading companies from the UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific have already taken part in the Benchmark Study.  Feedback to the study has been extremely positive with 76% of participants reporting that just taking part has given them new ideas to improve the impact of their learning services.
 
Early findings highlight that austerity measures within the economy are influencing the spend on technology in learning with 6 out of 10 businesses allocate more of their Learning and Development budget to technology. The in-depth study is also seeing that there is an increased focus on the use of mobile and social learning with many businesses looking to popular technologies to help them deliver more for less. In addition, the benchmark helps participants investigate how they can make the most of their 2012-13 investment in technology led learning.

Taking part in the confidential Benchmark Study is easy; it takes between forty minutes to an hour, to review an organisation’s approach to learning.  Once the online study is completed, participants immediately receive a complimentary paper entitled 101 Tips for Success and a free personalised company benchmark, worth £300 by the end of the August.
 
Over the nine years of benchmarking, 2200 organisations across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors have benefited from taking part in Toward Maturity’s in-depth benchmark.
 
Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “This study isn’t just a piece of research, it’s a performance improvement tool designed to help busy L&D departments improve results and save time. It also encourages organisations who are interested in identifying and sharing effective learning using technology to take advantage of the benchmark extension and get involved.”  

Organisations new to benchmarking should take a look at Towards Maturity’s new You-tube video for an introduction to the benefits of benchmarking.

Participants can take part in the benchmark at http://svy.mk/TMBm12 until the 21st of August.  The Towards Maturity 2012 Benchmark Study is free to participate in thanks to the Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme, made up of 20 leading learning organisations. They work together as Ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practice, raising awareness and driving the whole learning industry forward.

The Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE Communications, The Corporate eLearning Consortium, successfactors, REDTRAY and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Speexx, Fusion-Universal, Information Transfer, learndirect, Toolwire, e2train,  QA, Ontuitive, MindLeaders, Upside Learning and IMC. 

For more information on joining the Toward Maturity Ambassador Programme please click here or email nigel@towardsmaturity.org

I don’t want to go into each session individually (you can do that yourselves by looking at the session summaries and slides ). But  I would like to reflect on 16 practical action areas that came out of the day for me:

1.    We need to actively challenge our own thinking:  Innovation is critical for ongoing business survival and organisations have get beyond a narrow way of thinking if they are to thrive, but Nigel Paine showed us that the L&D function can’t engender innovation unless we ourselves are innovative. Just because we are asked for a course (online or not), it might not be the best thing for the business. We have to challenge our own thinking and that of our traditional sponsors if we are to support innovation within our business.

2.    Deconstructing the learning process. The course (e or otherwise) is a  continuous progression through a set of pre defined steps. But business life is accelerating and this process needs to be deconstructed for individuals to be able to work and perform in a constantly changing environment. We need help and resources at the time of need, the ability to connect with others, the chance to reflect – but the process still needs to make sense to busy individuals. Charles Gould suggested an alternative Mosaic idea for creating learning - creative blends of resources with good navigation, clear business outcomes & tough assessment are needed to make this type of approach work.

3.    The role of resources – Learning and development professionals need to also focus on creating flexible practical resources to support learners, helping them to apply learning and explore further in a way that also compliments workshops – examples  such as job aids, video resources, top ups, mobile resources and team meeting support were provided by the different case studies.

4.    The importance of an authentic voice – When creating resources such as video or podcasts , they should feel authentic to the audience. In their onboarding programme, Bupa and Sky both introduced new staff to customers as characters, highlighting the lives that they lead and the impact on their decisions. Video provides an authentic voice through interviews with real practitioners. Organisations can film internal and external experts, distilling their learning points in short video.  By showcasing talent  internally this way, it is also possible to take the pressure off individual experts traditionally used within the formal course . Scripted video clips can also be to challenge views and perspectives in subject areas such as diversity where the medium is really the only way of treating subject with realism and subtlty. BP developed personas of characters, including their backstories and history

5.    Role  of games . It is clear that games can also be used outside of the ‘course’  to engage and help people apply their skills for example at Bupa they have introduced games to improve knowledge around medical terms so make staff more comfortable speaking to unwell customers via the phone.

6.  Provide time to reflect .  Clive Shepherd challenged us to understand that we achieve more when we reflect, observe, explore, experiment and generalise.  L&D have a role in accelerating this process by encouraging interaction with peers, content, expert through activities such as blogging, personal reflection, and encouraging people to post what they have got out of the session.

7. Consider courses as resources-  traditional elearning courses, if shortened to just 5 – 20 minutes can also be treated as resources. This approach creates more flexibility in learning modes, reduces production and maintenance time (by 90% in Bupa’s case) and allows content to be extended to a wider audience.

8.  Think about ownership – A more segmented approach to courses and resources means different  individuals can own their own pieces provding better engagement with Subject matter experts and quicker sign off and involvement. If content is produced on a project by project basis then no one carries on responsibility once the programme has been delivered. Ongoing ownership is critical, as is a  continuous review cycle.

9.    Create great environments in which people can operate - Part of our role in L&D not just to develop great people but to create great environments in which they can operate. Being on a course is not a great environment. Individuals need to be part of a social network in their organaisations. L&D need to be seen as thought leaders in environment where people can discuss, share and exchange great ideas,  
10.    Sensible pathways -  learning designers need to assemble the most appropriate sources of information, provide a sensible pathway through those resources and   focus on assessment that is rigourous and challenging. This could be in the form of a game or in a challenge such as ‘go & do your research then go to board room to present findings’.

11.    Keeping it simple  - When developing a richer environment of resouces to use and explore, it is critical to keep access simple via a portal with clear themes and structures, it is also important to prime staff to ensure that they are aware of what is available and how to use it.

12.    Its about balance - Don't throw the baby out with the bath water, sometimes a course is good! We need staff to innovate contribute and develop but also need them to perform and comply. We need to find a balance in creating an archtiecture that is right for the job in hand , it is not simply one style over another.

13.    Supporting the managers. For programmes to be successful, we need to support managers. BP’s  ecosystem of resources supporting their diversity programme -can be used in any ways to stimulate rich discussion and  managers are encouraged to  explore video clips in sessions with their own teams, filtering them to  deal with the issue that they want to address. They have created  theme guides that enable managers to talk confidently which include supporting resources such as  powerpoint decks with speaker notes.

14.    Revisit the skills of the L&D  team These shifts in progamme design show that the role of learning designers has never been more completx or more valuable . They need to be able to assemble resources, define how measure, be able to prime for learning, to help  people to find own route through learning. This means they need to be  curator not just creators . The architect of learning  has a professional responsibility to their client to meet their needs in responsible and ethical way. To create  environments for learning, they need to understand all the materials and techniques available and to be up to date with tools of the trade

15.    Take risks - Great innovation comes through disruptive ideas and if were are not changing mindsets and not supporting risk taking then we have a problem! Nigel Paine showed us that  desks are were creativity goes to die!  We should all be finding ways to stretch our brains and think differently!

16.    Finally Do something! The event in Edinburgh provided practical ideas that anyone could apply back in the office but we have to act. Why not use this article to start a discussion in your organisation? Start the debate how do we stretch our brains? We need to take time out to pilot new approaches and investigate opportunities to change, Thomas Edison  showed us that the value of an idea lies in the use of it and this event certainly provided plenty of practical themes to help us turn those ideas into action.

Brightwave is a founding Ambassador of the Towards Maturity Benchmark - challenge your thinking and see how far your organisations has come in addressing these issues  by taking part in the benchmark for free today (the 2012 benchmark is now open until 21st August 2011)

 Laura will be speaking on Overcoming Learner Reluctance , exploring Toward's Maturity's learner audit findings over the years to find out What Learner's really want! (If this is a subject dear to your heart, contact us to to find out about being part of our 2012 pilot Learner Audit, at elearning@towardsmaturity.org.)

Towards Maturity and the Learning Performance Institute

Our organisations share the common goal of working together to  support L&D professionals around the globe who are looking to build business performance. Towards Maturity are pleased to support the Learning and Performance Institute's  LEARNING LIVE event because the event provides an important opportunity for members to gather to address the critical issues that will underpin the future success of the L&D profession.

We are also grateful for the LPI's ongoing support of the Towards Maturity Benchmark "The Learning and Performance Institute exists to continuously raise standards of professionalism within the learning community and as such we’ve been supporting the Towards Maturity Benchmark since its inception. It provides our,members and the industry as a whole, with trusted and detailed recommendations about how to continually innovate to support business success." Edmund Monk , Managing Director, Learning and Performance Institute
 

Why should you attend LEARNING LIVE?

• Towards Maturity Supporters Julie Wedgwood, Ben Betts, Nic Laycock, David Perring (elearnity) and Nigel Paine.
• Secrets of success from Top performing Benchmark organisations will be shared by Lisa Johnson (Barnardos) and Sue Rawson (Eversheds).
• 2 of our Ambassadors will also be exhibiting at the event Mindleaders and Ontuitive - don't forget to go and say hello to them! Ontuitive will be running an interactive workshop (Performance support in 2 clicks and 10 seconds) on the 12th that looks really interesting.

 You can register for the event at www.learning-live.com

Elearning Network members can take part in the Benchmark here.

As part of its work with the learning and development community, the eLearning Network (eLN) launched its campaign at the start of 2012. “The campaign works to support technology-led learning in all its forms” explains Rob Hubbard, eLN Chairman. “Members share knowledge and best practices with the aim of helping everyone create and commission better elearning content, systems and apps. We are encouraging our members to get involved with the Benchmark as part of their ”

He continues, “We’re delighted to support the Towards Maturity Benchmark study as part of our campaign. We know our members have gained great insights by taking part in the Benchmark over the years and urge everyone who is interested in pursuing excellence in learning and development to get involved in this year’s study.”

The Towards Maturity Benchmark study provides a unique and free opportunity for organisations to review their current approach to learning, compare their progress with peers and to use this information to help improve their performance. In 2011, a record 600 organisations took part across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

eLN Board member Matt Brewer, Technology Training Consultant from Chubb Insurance Company, has already participated in the 2012 study and commented “"Having participated in the Towards Maturity Benchmarking process for the last few years, I think it provides easily the best and most comprehensive assessment of where we are in comparison with other companies who are using or planning to use online learning. Don't just think that the results are the only useful part of it though. Just completing the benchmark focuses the mind to areas you may need to address, and provides ideas of other possible alternatives you may not have considered."

The study closes on the 27th of July but everyone who completes the Benchmark study by 6 July will receive their personalised, independent report in just two weeks. Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity will also be talking about the study at this week’s eLN mobile learning event on Friday 6 July in London, for which a few tickets are still available: http://www.elearningnetwork.org/events/mad-about-mobile-learning

Those wishing to take part in the study can do so online here

About eLearning Network

The eLearning Network (eLN) is a non-profit, Community Interest Company run by the elearning community for the elearning community.

The eLN is the number one source for guidance on best practice and future trends in technology-based learning and development at work, with over 3000 members in the UK and beyond. Find out more via www.elearningnetwork.org

 If you would like to find out how you compare with the top performers in your approach take part in the Towards Maturity Benchmark for Free today (open until 27th June)

Managers and leaders are critical in the success of the adoption of learning technologies and the new approaches for learning and performance  that they enable. 52% of L&D professionals say that line manager reluctance is a real barrier to change but on the other hand 55% of learners say that their manager is the only one who's opinion counts when it comes to engaging in technology inabled learning.

In our studies over the years we've found that those in the top 25% of implementation maturity report that they are now more responsive to ongoing business change, engage more learners, save more time and money and delivery more business results. They also report fewer barriers to adoption and percieve more management engagement than other organisations.

The Towards Maturity Model highlights 6 workstreams of effective practice that correlate to results and that top performers consistently exhibit more than others.

ENGAGE line managers for productivity overdrive!

We mined the data to uncover 6 tips from their experience that directly relates to management engagement for you to apply back at work:

•  Engage before Executing
• iNtegrate with existing team practices
•  Get real: Get relevant
•  Apply learning
•  Gather feedback, share Good news
•  Equip managers through innovative Experiences 

 In the session, the excellent case study about the Thomson Reuters Sales Academy by Kelly Thomas   (one of the TM top quartile organisations) was used to illustrate these ideas in practice.

Engage before Executing

Involve line managers in the design of learning solutions before building them. This generates up front engagement, provides and opportunity to listen to the real challenges that they are facing and creates new ideas to bring into your solution design.  The L&S group members offered a number of great questions to ask at this stage in the process including:

• What do you want to change?
• What will success look like?
• What needs to be different in 6 months time?
• How does your team work?
• What do you want your people to stop, start or carry on doing?
• What have you tried before and why didn't it work?
• What support do your staff need in the workplace?
• What support do you need?
• What do you think about this approach, will it work in your team?

iNtegrate with existing team practices

Don't isolate learning from other HR and talent initiatives. Where possible link back to the day job of the manager and individual.

 Get real: Get relevant

Only 3 in 5 of us beleive that our technology enabled learning is currently relevant to current jobs - this jumps to 9 in 10 of the top performers who are e-enabling programmes to directly support important work initiaves (leadership, sales, new systems and processes). For top performers it is not just about compliance. 

Communication also has to be relevant - using the vocabularly of business picked up from the questions above. Managers need to know they have been heard so watch your communications style.

Apply learning

Top performers are 3x more likely to equip their managers to help their teams get the most from learning. In the Thomson Reuters study they introduced the concept of the Power Hour - helping the managers to help their teams apply learning and learn from each other. Other ideas for L&D to help managers apply learning came from the L&S group event:

• Support coaching skills and peer group sessions
• Provide resources to use back at the desk ( check lists etc)
• Support mechanisms like forums/in house social networking
• Grow a culture of learning conversations 
• Help them set projects that will encourage staff to apply new skills

Gather feedback, share Good news

Top performers are 2x as likely to gather learner and manager feedback on learning application. They are also twice as likely to communicate success back to management. Encourage peer to peer communication about successes - manager to manager as well as learner to learner.

Equip managers through innovative Experiences

Finally if you are providing any form of management or leadership development, do it in a way that models great online learning experiences. Our Reinventing Leadership Development study shows how organisations are already doing this. Top performers are more likely to be using technology to support leaders and managers in their own growth and development.

• View presentation of this topic on Slideshare here

ENGAGE is just 6 tips to look to help you connect with line managers, but top performers exhibit consistent behaviour across a range of implementation behaviours.  The Towards Maturity Benchmark will help you identify where you are strong, where you can improve.

Those that benchmark don't have to reinvent the wheel so get involved today!

Take your benchmark HERE

 (The study is completely confidential and FREE thanks to the support of Towards Maturity's Ambassadors)

Global provider of performance support services, Ontuitive has joined Towards Maturity’s growing Ambassador Programme.

Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme is made up of 20 leading learning specialist companies. They work together as ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practices, raising awareness and driving the whole learning industry forward. They also share a common passion for ensuring that independent advice is freely available to all.

Commenting on joining the Towards Maturity’s Ambassdor Programme, Bob Mosher, Ontuitive’s evangelist  said, “Ontuitive is delighted to be part of this leading industry programme that is making a real difference to the use of technology in learning.  Towards Maturity independent Benchmark Studies are world-class and  provide important insights into how organisations are addressing learning at the point of need. We look forward to endorsing the research with our good practice case studies.”
 
Towards Maturity’s annual benchmark study is the largest international online learning technology benchmark study, drawing out effective practices from top performing companies  around the globe.  It provides its participants with personalised benchmark reports to help them improve the impact of learning technologies in their organisations.  Both the study and personalised benchmark reports are free thanks to the Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme.
 
The 2012 Benchmark Study is now available to participate in until the end of July 2012. Since 2003 over 1800 organisations across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors have benefited from these free in-depth studies. 
 
Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “We have consistently found that top performing companies are thinking innovatively about learning transfer and performance support and as such, we welcome Ontuitive to our growing Ambassador Programme. It’s award winning approach provides our group with a critical perspective about supporting learners  at the point of need to improve performance and productivity. ”

The Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE Communications, The Corporate eLearning Consortium, successfactors, REDTRAY and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Speexx, Fusion-Universal, Information Transfer, learndirect, Toolwire, e2train,  QA, Ontuitive, MindLeaders, Upside Learning and IMC. 
For more information on joining the Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme please email nigel@towardsmaturity.org

About Ontuitive
Ontuitive provides performance support solutions that drive significant increases in employee productivity by helping employees during their most profound moments of need, alone at their desk, struggling with what to do, where to click or where to search to get the job done. For more information please email a.parkinson@ontuitive.com or visit www.ontuitive.com.

About Towards Maturity
Towards Maturity is a benchmarking research company that provides independent expert advice and support to help organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the largest learning technology benchmark in Europe. Since 2003 over 1800 organisations have contributed to the leading Towards Maturity benchmark. 

Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors (20 leading learning organisations), annual benchmarking findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free at www.towardsmaturity.org.  To find out about Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors visit www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

To learn more about Towards Maturity’s unique benchmarking tools and models visit http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/ 
 
Giovanna Puma
Towards Maturity
T: +44 (0) 7764 561 782
E: giovanna@towardsmaturity.org

Update - the 2012 Benchmark has now been extended to 21st August.

Benchmark research company, Towards Maturity launches its Benchmark Study, the largest benchmark study of its type in Europe.

In its ninth year, the study has identified a real trend towards benchmarking, with a record 600 organisations across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors participating in the 2011 study, 50% more organisations than in 2010.  Participants among European, US, Middle East and Asia Pacific companies also increased.

The Towards Maturity Benchmark study provides a unique opportunity for organisations to review their current approach to learning, compare their progress with peers and to use this information to take action to improve performance.  In 2011, an astonishing 73% of participants reported that just taking part in the study had given them new ideas to improve the impact of their learning services.  This year’s study is even more thought provoking, thanks to the valuable input of leading industry experts including Jane Hart, Charles Jennings, Clive Shepherd, Nigel Paine, Rob Hubbard and others.

Taking part in the confidential 2012 Benchmark Study is easy; it takes between forty minutes to an hour to review an organisation’s approach to learning using the online survey.  Once completed, participants receive immediately a complimentary paper entitled 101 Tips for Success and a free personalised company benchmark report, worth £300 about six weeks later.*

Mike Booth, Learning Technologies Manager for Cable & Wireless Worldwide and winner of this year’s  E-learning Industry award for individual outstanding achievement, said, “It’s encouraging to see a rise in benchmarking, and may it long continue.  I’ve been taking part in the Towards Maturity learning technology benchmark since 2003. I find the results thought provoking and a great source of ideas for performance improvement. The learning technologist is often quite a lone specialist role within organisations and the benchmarking allows me to make a comparison with the real world and to just stop for a moment to sanity check that I’m delivering tangible business benefits.”   

Within the personalised Benchmark report available to each participant of the study, is their organisation’s unique Towards Maturity Index (TMI) - the measurement of how mature an organisation’s learning technology implementation is and, more importantly, how to improve it - companies in the top quartile of the TMI scale engage twice the audience, save an additional 33% of cost and 50% in reduced study time. Their staff also reach proven competency 6 times faster as a result of using learning technologies.**

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “Despite the growing investment in learning technologies, a shocking percentage of organisations are not using these tools to their full potential. I urge the learning industry to not reinvent the wheel in these difficult economic times, our free 2012 Benchmark Study will help you identify priorities, reduce risk and deliver business benefits.”

The Towards Maturity 2012 Benchmark Study is free to participant in thanks to the Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme, made up of 20 leading learning organisations. They work together as Ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practice, raising awareness and driving the whole learning industry forward.

The Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE Communications, The Corporate eLearning Consortium, successfactors, REDTRAY and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Speexx, Fusion-Universal, Information Transfer, learndirect, Toolwire, e2train,  QA, Ontuitive, MindLeaders  Upside Learning and IMC. 

For more information on joining the Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme please email nigel@towardsmaturity.org

Notes to editors:
The 2012 benchmark study will be freely available from 12th June via the link https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TM2012Benchmark

*Participants, who complete the Benchmark Study before the end of June, will receive their personalised benchmark in the middle of July. Participants who complete the benchmark after the end of June will receive their personalised report by mid-August.

** Data from 2010 Towards Maturity Benchmark Study, www.towardsmaturity.org2010benchmark

About Towards Maturity
Towards Maturity is a benchmarking research company that provides independent expert advice and support to help organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the largest learning technology benchmark in Europe. Since 2003 over 1800 organisations have contributed to the leading Towards Maturity benchmark.
 
Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors (20 leading learning organisations), annual benchmarking findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free at www.towardsmaturity.org.  To find out about Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors visit www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

To learn more about Towards Maturity’s unique benchmarking tools and models visit http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/ 

Giovanna Puma
Towards Maturity
T: +44 (0) 7764 561 782 E: giovanna@towardsmaturity.org

The independent 2012-13 Towards Maturity Benchmark is made possible thanks to the support of our Ambassadors:  

 _________________________________________________________________ 

Not everyone can be a winner but for most people just taking part in the awards process is a great way to learn and grow. Preparing the award provides a great opportunity to reflect on lessons learned and the journey so far. Great preparation increases the chances of being shortlisted, which in turn offers a unique chance to get feedback from both peers and industry experts. When it comes to awards, the journey actually is very important, winning is the icing on the cake!

I have probably judged over 50 different awards (and read literally hundreds of submissions) in the last 10 years and in the interest of your success and the sanity of me and my fellow judge’s sanity, I thought it would be useful to provide some do’s and don’t's to help you make the most of your experience.

The Do's - Creating the submission & getting shortlisted

The first step of the journey is preparing the award submission, a bit of effort at this stage can really pay dividends, especially when you are shortlisted.

1.    Recognise your own achievements – You don’t need to be a multinational superstar business with a budget to match to be an award winner. Let's face it, in this day and age – all of us have had to be more resourceful and more innovative with what is available. If you haven’t considered entering an award before, why not sit down with your team and reflect on one of your projects that you’ve been most proud about, what’s worked, what you've overcome and what's been achieved? Taking part in the Towards Maturity Benchmark will help you focus on your strengths and weaknesses!

2.    Do some external research – Why not take some inspiration from past award winners. You can hear them present on the elearning age award winners webinars or read the stories of past winners.

 
3.    Chose the right award for you – Read the categories carefully, there are probably several that you could enter but the trick is to enter the category that will really draw on your project’s strengths. If the elearning that you have created is outstanding and really different from anything else you have seen, consider one of the e-learning product awards. However, if what you have created is quite standard but has had incredible take up or forms part of a really innovative programme, then consider something like widespread adoption or best online programme.

4.    Read the award submission guidelines  – Keep to them, enough said!

5.    Make sure you clearly map your entry to the criteria – Tell a good story but keep to the award criteria. You can increase your chances of being shortlisted by using the award criteria as the framework for telling your story. This approach acts as a check list for you that you are in the right category, but it also makes it easier for us as judges to compare your submission with others.

6.    Use great evidence to stand out from the crowd – Evidence of take up, cost savings and learner satisfaction are great but commonplace. To stand out from the crowd you really need to think about how you can evidence real business change – what is the impact on the job, reduction in time to competency, changes in productivity are all very powerful. Annecdotal evidence from staff and key sponsors works but good stats are even better. If you don’t have them, why not send out a short survey to those who have taken part and their managers, asking some simple questions: ‘What have you done differently as a result? How much time have you saved? How confident are you now? You may be surprised at what you get back!

The Do's once you are shortlisted :

7.    Keep to time  - Question time is built into the presentation process for a reason. In my experience this is the time where we dig in deeper and the Q&A time is often the moment where the winner stands out. So, give yourself a fighting chance and save plenty of time for questions.

8.    Have an authentic voice –  Judges want to hear from those who have directly benefitted from your solution, in person if possible, by phone if not, or even by video if they are not able to attend.

9.    Have fun – Whilst it seems a bit nerve wracking, all the judges I know are there because they are genuinely interested to learn about what you are doing. Our job is to make heros not to harangue you  – this isn’t Dragons Den!

10.    Tell others – Being shortlisted also helps you to raise awareness internally within your own organisation. Also, external recognition is always good for building internal credibility, so let the world know!

And finally the Don't's, here are 4 things to avoid

1.    Don’t reinvent the wheel  - Don’t make up your own rules about your submission, it may make perfect sense to you but if you don’t follow the competition rules you probably won’t get the recognition you deserve!

2.    Don’t add irrelevant detail – That includes obvious sales pitches about your product or organisation.

3.    Don’t make silly mistakes – Spell checker is available to everyone for free, so use it.

4.    Don’t think negatively – Take an honest look at the project you’re most proud of, chose your category and give it a go!

Now is the time to be proud and to shout about what you have done. Be clear about your unique strengths and why you deserve to win, and go for it!

Don't just take my word for it - here are some hints and tips from fellow judges!

 
Tony Frascina,  Chair of Judges of the ELearning awards  'A rigorous approach stands out a mile - know your design onions and demonstrate your understanding about the psychology of learning. Don't forget that simplicity can be great - we'd rather see learning effectiveness than learning gimmics!'

• The elearning awards are now open - you need to register your interest by 30th June. 

Debbie Carter, Head of Research at Training Journal  'Entering awards is a great way of taking time out to reflect on your best work and then to benchmark it externally with others. If I was to offer any advice to those entering the TJ Awards 2012 it would be to tell a compelling story while ensuring you answer all the questions that make up the application form. Make sure someone outside your department reads it before submission as it’s easy to write something that makes perfect sense to you but might not be so clear to someone outside your organisation.'

• You can find out more about entering the TJ awards here and don’t forget the closing date is Monday 16th July

Alan Bellinger, Judge at LPI Awards 'Really focus on the question ''why this year?" - a strong case is a real differentiator. Also remember that your initial objective is to get on the short list, so focus on that first. Any copy you write that does not help you achieve this is a waste of your time (and the judges time as well).'

• Find out about the Learning Performance Institute's awards here.

Due to popular demand, the benchmark has now been extended through to 21st August - TAKE PART TODAY BY CLICKING HERE 

Over 76% of 2012 participants are already finding that the review process alone is stimulating new ideas to help performance improvement.

It takes about 40 minutes to complete your review  - but is the investment of time worth it? Find out what this year's participants think about the process:

• When we completed the Towards Maturity benchmark it highlighted what we did really well, what we did ok, but it also showed us where we need to improve. This allowed us to question some aspects of our apprach to learning and the use of technology.Mark Turton, Training Manager, The Orders of St John Care Trust
• "Having participated in the Towards Maturity Benchmarking process for the last few years, I think it provides easily the best and most comprehensive assessment of where we are in comparison with other companies who are using or planning to use online learning. Don't just think that the results are the only useful part of it though. Just completing the benchmark focuses the mind to areas you may need to address, and provides ideas of other possible alternatives you may not have considered."  Matt Brewer, Technology Training Consultant from Chubb Insurance Company and ELN Board Member
• This is the 3rd year we've taken part and irrespective of how we rate ourselves against the benchmark questions, the questions in themselves make us stop and reflect on what we are planning to focus our energies on. Thank you to the TM team for making these even better, year on year.. Andy Sorton, Organisational Development Advisor , Borough of Poole
•  Thank you for  my 2012 personalised report,  I am kicking myself hard for not using this when I first stepped into my role. I've contributed to the Towards Maturity benchmark before but with my head down, focused on transforming the learning organsiation, I missed a great opportunity to make my life easier and the team even more effective.  I won't make that mistake again!  Kelly Thomas, Global Head of Sales & Service Learning , Thomson Reuters
• "As with previous Towards Maturity Benchmark Studies, this year's study has given me time to pause and reflect on how Eversheds is progressing in learning. I find the study really motivating, as it allows me to take a step back and realise what we have accomplished as a company, while providing a check-list for the areas we still need to focus on." Tim Drewitt elearning specialist, Eversheds LLP
•  “Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the 2012 Benchmark.  This is an excellent study with relevant and thought-provoking questions – the best I have completed in a while.  The quality of questions gave me reflective moments as to how we can improve what we do here as I realised my answers highlighted gaps I could fill and this was very much appreciated as a side benefit of taking part” Linda Al Ansari, Manager Learning Technologies, Emirates Dubai  (pilot participant)
•    “It’s encouraging to see a rise in benchmarking, and may it long continue.  I’ve been taking part in the Towards Maturity learning technology benchmark since 2003. I find the results thought provoking and a great source of ideas for performance improvement. The learning technologist is often quite a lone specialist role within organisations and the benchmarking allows me to make a comparison with the real world and to just stop for a moment to sanity check that I’m delivering tangible business benefits.”  Mike Booth, Learning Technologies Manager for Cable & Wireless Worldwide (pilot participant).

It is free to participate in the independent Towards Maturity Benchmark thanks to the support of Towards Maturity's Ambassadors:

 _________________________________________________________________

The independent 2012-13 Towards Maturity Benchmark is made possible thanks to the support of our Ambassadors:

Upside Learning offers the world renowned Learning Management System - UpsideLMS,  and the revolutionary Mobile Learning platform – Upside2Go. Its Bespoke Learning Solutions have won awards for their quality and learning effectiveness. Headquartered in Pune, India, Upside Learning serves more than 150 clients in 13 different countries.

Commenting about supporting Towards Maturity, Amit Garg, Director of Custom Learning Solutions at Upside Learning said, “Upside Learning helps organisations perform better by effective use of learning technologies. We continually innovate our products and services to stay relevant and competitive. We’ve been impressed by the independent industry benchmark reports from Towards Maturity, which effectively help organisations to identify and adopt effective practices in workplace learning. As an Ambassador, we are proud to support Towards Maturity in its initiatives.”

Towards Maturity’s annual benchmark study is the largest online learning technology benchmark study in Europe. It provides its participants with personalised benchmark reports to help improve the impact of learning technologies in their organisations.  The study and the personalised benchmark reports are free thanks to Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme.

Over the past nine years, over 1800 organisations across private, public and not-for-profit sectors have benefited from these in-depth studies.  A record 600 organisations participated in the 2011 research.  This year’s study will be launched on 12th June.

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “We are thrilled that Upside Learning has joined our Ambassador Programme. Their international perspective and reputation is welcomed in the group, as we are seeing an increasing trend to benchmark not only in the UK, but globally, especially among companies in Europe, US, Middle East and Asia Pacific.”

Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme is made up of 20 leading learning specialist companies. They work together as ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practices, raising awareness and driving the whole learning industry forward. They also share a common passion for ensuring that independent advice is freely available to all.

The Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE Communications, The Corporate eLearning Consortium, successfactors, REDTRAY and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Speexx, Fusion-Universal, Information Transfer, learndirect, Toolwire, e2train,  QA, Ontuitive, MindLeaders, Upside Learning and IMC. 

For more information on joining the Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme please email nigel@towardsmaturity.org

About Upside Learning

A globally recognized leader in training outsourcing, Upside Learning is one of the leading names in Custom eLearning Development, Learning Management System and Mobile
 Learning Solutions. With a collective experience of 600+ person-years, it has successfully completed more than 300 corporate and academic projects for over 150 clients worldwide.
The company’s solutions and services portfolio includes a range of learning solutions tailor-made to organizations of different sizes and types. It comprises:

• UpsideLMS – Stunning, best value, multi-award winning Learning Management System
• Upside2Go –  A revolutionary platform for Mobile Learning
• Custom eLearning & mLearning Solutions
• Catalog Courses (over 5000 courses in IT, Finance, Desktop Skills & Soft Skills)
• Technical Support & Managed Services

Upside Learning has been consistently picking up awards and other recognitions every year, including the most recent 2011 Brandon Hall Excellence in Technology Awards.
It is its constant endeavour to develop and provide innovative solutions to its clients thereby impacting their organizational learning and hence, performance.
For more information, visit: http://www.upsidelearning.com

About Towards Maturity

Towards Maturity is a benchmarking research company that provides independent expert advice and support to help organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the largest learning technology benchmark in Europe. Since 2003 over 1800 organisations have contributed to the leading Towards Maturity benchmark.
 
Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors (20 leading learning organisations), annual benchmarking findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free at www.towardsmaturity.org.  To find out about Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors visit www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

To learn more about Towards Maturity’s unique benchmarking tools and models visit http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/ 

Global organisations are seeing first-hand that language skills can help to enhance business efficiency and profitably. This is shown in a poll of 500 employers (1), languages skills came second only to IT in a list of desirable skills for job candidates.

It’s based in the cloud, offers five-star reporting and learner support, calculates ROI better than anything currently on the market and understands that the learning needs of one industry are unlikely to be the same as the learning needs in another. These are the top line specifications you get when 175 L&D experts gather online to brainstorm the learning management dream machine they’ve always wished for.  

We don’t all have the same dreams
One of the criticisms often launched at solution providers to the L&D industry is that the learning management systems they create try to be all things to all people. Vendors want to please all users all the time, but may end up pleasing very few.

In our recent LMSwishList survey, just 2 in 10 L&D experts scored their system 70% or more when asked to provide an overall satisfaction rating for the LMS they used today. The reason nearly 8 in 10 LMS users are dissatisfied seems to fall into one of two camps:

• They’re disappointed because the things their LMS claims to do fall short of expectations (functions like reporting, course management or online assessments are high on this agenda) or,
• Because it doesn’t do things they think a modern LMS should – like virtual classroom, social media or effective ROI calculations.

MindLeaders has been changing lives through learning since 1981 and has a pool of customer success stories in the United States, Europe, Middle East and Africa. It has recently embarked on its own mini benchmark to evaluate how e-talent ready its customers are.

Janet Garcia, MindLeaders’ Director of UK and International, comments on joining Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme, “MindLeaders is really beginning to invest in benchmarking both internally and with its customers. Being part of Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme will help us broaden our industry perspective, share our success stories and good practices.”

Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme is made up of 19 leading learning specialist companies. They work together as ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practice, raising awareness and driving the whole learning industry forward. They also share a common passion for ensuring that independent advice is freely available to all.

Towards Maturity’s annual benchmark study is the largest online learning technology benchmark study in Europe. It is free to take part in and provides its participants with personalised benchmark reports to help improve the impact of learning technologies in their organisations.
 
Over the nine years of benchmarking, over 1800 organisations across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors have benefited from the in-depth free study.  A record 600 organisations participated in the 2011 research. The study is free thanks to Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme.

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “MindLeaders bring a wealth of international experience to our Ambassador Programme and we are delighted they have joined.  In our industry there is still a lack of awareness of the value of benchmarking and I’m looking forward to working with MindLeaders to encourage our industry to benchmark and learn from each other more.”

The 2012 Benchmark Study will be launched in June 2012.  To help shape the 2012 benchmark study, Towards Maturity is encouraging users to participant in its new LinkedIn discussion group.

The Ambassador Programme was launched in November 2010 and includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE Communications, LMMatters, successfactors, REDTRAY and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Speexx, Fusion-Universal, Information Transfer, learndirect, Toolwire, e2train,  QA, Ontuitive, MindLeaders and Upside Learning.  Click here for more information on the Toward Maturity’s  Ambassador Programme please visit or email nigel@towardsmaturity.org.

About MindLeaders

MindLeaders is a global provider of learning technologies. Our elearning courses and sophisticated learning services drive better organisational performance and develop talent in more than 2,500 organisations across thirty countries.

Our heritage stretches back across three decades to elearning pioneers on both sides of the Atlantic. As ThirdForce, we brought together pioneering technology-based learning companies like Electric Paper and Creative Learning Media to create a global specialist partner for digital literacy programmes and a leading provider of elearning to the hospitality, care and public sectors in the UK and Ireland.

MindLeaders have pioneered elearning and e-based learning solutions since 1981, offering the only talent management solution featuring performance management, learning management and elearning resources on one unified platform. In 2007, ThirdForce acquired MindLeaders to become MindLeaders ThirdForce. Now we’ve brought together the brands, services and people that make up our business under the single name MindLeaders with a unified vision: Changing Lives through Learning.

About Towards Maturity

Towards Maturity is a benchmarking research company that provides independent expert advice and support to help organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the largest learning technology benchmark in Europe. Since 2003 over 1800 organisations have contributed to the leading Towards Maturity benchmark.
 
Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors (19 leading learning organisations), annual benchmarking findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free at www.towardsmaturity.org.  To find out about Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors visit www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

To learn more about Towards Maturity’s unique benchmarking tools and models visit http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/ 

Giovanna Puma
Towards Maturity
T: +44 (0) 7764 561 782
E: giovanna@towardsmaturity.org

Business Educa - for innovative thinking for business professionals   

For the past 3 years Business EDUCA, an integral aspect of the main OEB event, aims to help business delegates achieve organisational results through collaborative intelligence and learning. Now it is your opportunity to get involved. 

Business Educa creates a unique opportunity for all business professionals involved in learning innovation. Past delegates have said that it provides

• Ongoing conversation - new ideas are created and explored throughout the year (take a look at the Learning Scenario Project instigated by Shell in 2011)
• Collision of worlds that challenges thinking - delegates have a unique opportunity to engage with other sectors and other thinking
• Informal networking – get up close and personal to top thinkers
• Energy!!
• Practical ideas that impact real business results

 If you thought that Online Educa Berlin was purely about an academic perspective, then think again!

'Presenting within the Business Educa stream at OEB for the first time last year provided me with a great opportunity to both benchmark and network with likeminded business professionals. It was great to get feedback on the work that we are doing at Toyota and the whole experience of contributing as part of the programme provided me with new ideas, new contacts and new challenges to take forward into 2012. I would thoroughly recommend other corporates looking for new perspectives to get involved' Sann René Glaza, Senior Manager, Customer Service Training Center, Toyota Europe

How can you get involved in 2012?

There are plenty of opportunities for Business professionals, with experiences of implementing learning technologies within their own workplaces across Europe and beyond to get involved in the programme itself:

• Sharing your story with your peers - lessons learned from experiences are always powerful
• Leading an interactive learning cafe around a practical issue of mutual benefit for all
• Challenging yourself and others through a dynamic 5 minute Ignite session (with just 20 slides and 5 seconds per slide).

The call for papers is now open and if you would like to contribute then please submit your ideas by 1st June.

Ideas for your contribution

The Business Educa Programme would love to really hear about your successes and lessons learned in driving performance and learning in business. The are open to all suggestions but for more inspiration, this year, the Business Educa Programme will be considering themes such as:

• Leadership and Talent Strategies to Drive Innovation
• Overcoming Management Reluctance
• Supporting Performance at Work
• Enabling Education and Business to Work Together
• Making learning relevant
• Language Learning for the Global Interconnected World
• Effective Practice – What Worked Today Might not Tomorrow

 For the full list of themes across the whole conference, visit the OEB website.

 A note to providers:

Whilst the call for papers is primarily aimed at organisations implementing innovative ideas within their own workplaces, the Online Educa team are also constantly innovating. They are currently pulling together some unique opportunities for Europe's leading learning providers to support the Business Educa programme that take full advantage of the excellent networking opportunities at the event, please contact them for more details.

Note on the call for papers

• If you are not sure this is for you but are interested, drop Laura Overton a line to discuss! #
• The selection process is overseen by  a conference steering committee who are always keen to see new stories about the experiences of employers across Europe
• Deadline for submission is 1 June and you will know if you have been accepted by 12 August
• Those with a successful application for inclusion on the conference agenda will be offered a significantly reduced conference registration fee of € 360 excl. VAT (instead of € 790).
  

http://www.online-educa.com/business-educa

Even though you have assembled some world class learning assets, have you created a COMPLETE formal learning program? You haven’t. Because some KEY ingredients, that fundamentally make the classroom what it is, are missing.

Enter one of the most common statements Con and I hear all the time: “We have Performance Support (PS). We have SharePoint (SP).” Unfortunately, the potential outcome of these two scenarios couldn’t be more similar. Now, before you send me nasty emails around the power and potential of SP, please reread the title of this blog posting, “SharePoint ALONE is NOT Performance Support”. Clearly SP is an amazing content repository and collaborative tool. It can be a powerful part of an overall PS strategy, but like many other similar tools, when left alone as a strategy, it’s lacking and will ultimately hurt your overall investment in SP, as well as your learner’s willingness to adopt and use it.

Like the classroom scenario above, SP alone is missing some of the key characteristics of an overall effective PS solution. Let’s start there. In our work and travels, Con and I have discovered that there are 5 key ingredients in a successful PS rollout:

• Embedded in the Workflow: The closer the PS strategy and related software are embedded in the workflow, and moved closer to the problem they are solving, the higher probability of adoption and impact. Proximity is EVERYTHING! Clicking out to an LMS, or a SharePoint site, to search through 1,000’s of resources is not embedded. Con and I have a mantra we’ve always work with, “Two clicks or 10 seconds”. Meaning if the learner can’t get to the support they need that quickly they simply don’t engage.
• Contextual Based on Job Role, Workflow Process, or Circumstance: This principle is often confused with the embedded principle. Just because something is accessible doesn’t mean that the content presented will be useful. The content needs to be relevant to the learner’s role, workflow, or problem being solved. Imagine facing a critical decision and having 5 minutes to make it. You are given access to 100’s of potential documents, websites, and colleagues (i.e. SP) as a resource. How do you feel right now? The more your PS framework can contextualize the resources, which are made available based on the circumstance you find yourself in, the higher probability of success!
• Provides “Just Enough” Content: This is one of the most misunderstood principles of effective PS. Many PS solutions simply offer too many options. This is not a strategy of abundance; it’s a strategy of specificity. More is NOT better when it comes to PS design. Effective PS offers just the right amount of support, with the most appropriate learning/support asset(s), and then guides the learner to more, if needed. You’ve seen us refer to this as the “PS Design Pyramid” and it is BRILLIANTLY outlined in Con’s recent blog article entitled “The Threat of Information Chaos and the Role of Performance Support”. SP struggles with mapping to this type of content architecture and being maintained over time, especially when mapping across multiple workflow processes, job roles, and systems.
• Integrated into Formal Learning: The most successful PS solutions we’ve been involved in start in the classroom, or the formal domain. Rather than teach everything like we once did, the trainer only teaches the essentials and then uses the rest of class time helping their learner understand how to stand self-reliant by using PS. Clearly SP can be integrated into training, the problem is that many SP sites hold a lot more information than the content a specific training course typically focuses on. This breaks the rule of “Providing Just Enough Content” as outlined above. A specific area of SP can be deep linked, or brokered, from within a PS framework optimizing the content stored on SP while not overwhelming or confusing the learner in the process.
• Trustworthy Content: The number one killer of PS is incorrect or outdated content. Since PS is consumed at the moment of performing a task, if this doesn’t help or produces an incorrect outcome they will never use it again. Some type of maintenance strategy has to accompany every PS rollout. Unfortunately many SP sites have not been set up with this type of rigorous maintenance strategy. They end up being the dumping ground of multiple versions of the same content found in multiple places. Using a PS authoring software can help bring semblance to this issue, allowing for versioning and tracking in a way SP isn’t able to support. Also rarely have we found all the appropriate learning and support assets stored in one SP site. There are often other web links, e-learning, and other resources which could be used in the PS framework. These need to be made available and maintained in concert with what’s available in SP.

Effective PS is not about a tool like SP, it’s about orchestrating an effective, embedded, and contextual journey through the appropriate support assets - at the moment of need. SP is a tremendous asset in that overall approach, but is not a standalone solution or strategy.

Bob Mosher, Chief Learning Evangelist for Ontuitive
Bob has been an active and influential leader in the learning and training industry for over 23 years. He is renowned worldwide for his pioneering role in e-learning and new approaches to learning. Bob joined Ontuitive from Microsoft, where he was the director of learning strategy and evangelism. Before Microsoft, Bob was the executive director of education for Element K, where he directed and influenced their learning model and products.

Bob is an influential voice in the IT-training industry, speaking at conferences and participating within industry associations such as Chief Learning Officer magazine, CompTIA, ASTD, The eLearning Guild and The MASIE Center.

• Accessible - through remote access technologies or Software as a Service (SaaS) models. People engage more frequently in social learning and networking when they’re away from the office – especially when they’re travelling or offsite, so make it available beyond the confines of the desk.
• Mobile – with the fast growth of both tablets and smartphone use, ensure your platform can be used effectively on both.  91% of mobile Internet access is to social sites (Microtag.com) with 86% of browsing whilst watching TV.

• Part of your IT infrastructure – I hate passwords and users names, I have more AKAs than the CIA’s most wanted and my pet collection is growing just to keep up with the password changes. So make it simple; Facebook and LinkedIN remember me, and corporate platforms really should take advantage of single sign on - don’t create reasons for people not to log in.
• Trust-based – a site governed by trust will rise above one governed by rules. Educate those who make mistakes and leave it to willing users to publish corrections to inaccurate information – that’s the best learning.

Personal Benefits
There has to be a reason to go online, make it a natural part of working with your organisation.

• Blended learning – integrate the platform within other learning activities, i.e. classroom-led sessions or follow-up work. This will encourage users to engage with the platform and also supports embedded learning in the workplace.
• External content – use your learning partners to provide quality content and articles for the platform; keep it refreshed and interesting so people keep coming back to read updates.
• Advocates – have leading advocates in the business who can respond to questions promptly and keep discussions going. 
• Create groups – help people find what they need with specific discussion groups and content libraries, we want relevant information surfaced, not hidden in pages of conversation threads.
• Business news – switch other forms of media to the site, don’t keep sending everything by email or employees will assume they can do the same. Publish content news, updates, videos, etc online and make the site topical and current.

 
Attraction
It has to be a place I want to go to, not one I’m told to look at!

• Encourage profiles – encourage employees to have detailed profiles about themselves and their work. This enables colleagues to find and engage with each other.
• Include everyone – social learning isn’t elitist, include everyone. Often, the help we need will come from teams we’re not familiar with. Don’t reinforce silos in the workplace by creating them online too. I won’t join in if the site offers me no solutions or is not diverse.
• Help people connect – we simply don’t know what we don’t know, so help people find the right people and content. Highlight great conversations, content and input and include external subject matter experts to provoke conversations and provide alternate views.
• Make it fun – work takes up a lot of our lives and if we expect people to get involved we need to give back some humour and fun. Include non-business related topics such as clubs, shared interests and activities.
  
  Overall, remember your first steps into social learning don’t have to be big ones, move forward from where you are rather than leaping head first into the future. Importantly, think about your users and what you want them to do, rather than just the technology.

Further information
If you want to hear more, come and meet Ron Edwards and me, Giles Smith, at the CIPD HRD conference technology centre on the 25th and 26th April.

QA are sponsors of the New Technology for Learning Zone at HRD 2012
http://www.cipd.co.uk/cande/hrd/free-learning-networking

QA HRD free sessions in the New Technology for Learning Zone
The Power of Many: Collaborative Social Learning -  Giles Smith & Ron Edwards
Wednesday, 25th April 13:15:  http://tinyurl.com/qasocial
Thursday, 26th April 09:30: http://tinyurl.com/qasocial26th

Virtual Learning: Engaging and Effective or Sleep Inducing? - Ron Edwards
Wednesday, 25th April 14:45: http://tinyurl.com/qavirtual
Thursday, 26th April 11:00:    http://tinyurl.com/qavirtual26th
 

QA has just published a white paper on How to maximise social learning within the workplace, which is available for download from:  http://www.qa.com/solutions/towards-maturity/

You can also register your interest in receiving the white paper by emailing Marketing@qa.com

The study, the largest online learning technologies benchmark study in Europe, helps organisations improve performance by reviewing their current adoption strategies and comparing them with their peers.

With a record 600 organisations participating in the study last year, it’s growing in popularity.  The research is free to take part in and provides its participants with personalised reports to improve the impact of learning technologies through best practice.

The recent Towards Maturity Ambassador meeting focused on possible areas of the 2012 research, including how learning technologies impact business, trends in systems integration, the effects of the cloud and importance of learning transfer.

L&D professionals can participate in this year’s research in early June. The independent study is also being shaped by major learning industry bodies, experts and key trade press.  Towards Maturity is also keen to encourage L&D professionals to have a voice in what they would like to find out from research.

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity explains, “In the nine years of benchmarking, over 1800 organisations across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors have benefited from our research. But this is a fast moving industry – what worked two years ago may not work now, so the study is constantly updated and we value the input of our ambassadors, supporters and users of the benchmark. To help shape the 2012 benchmark study and get the most out of this free research, please get in touch or join our new LinkedIn discussion group.”

19 leading UK learning specialist companies make up Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme. They work together as ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practice, raising awareness and driving the whole learning industry forward. They also share a common passion for ensuring that independent advice is freely available to all.

Learning and talent management software and services supplier e2train, recently joined the Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme in November 2011. Rob Caul, e2train’s Managing Director comments on his first ambassador meeting, “It was fantastic to be part of a group of leading learning professionals that are so passionate about freely sharing our industry’s successes.  It’s important that as an industry, we keep learning from each other and celebrating the impressive achievements that companies are achieving through learning technologies.”

Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors, participation in the annual benchmark study is free. The Ambassador Programme was launched in November 2010 and includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE Communications, LMMatters, successfactors, REDTRAY and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Speexx, Fusion-Universal, Information Transfer, learndirect, Toolwire, e2train,  QA, Ontuitive, MindLeaders and Upside Learning.  For more information on the Toward Maturity Ambassador Programme please click here or email nigel@towardsmaturity.org.

Notes to editors:
To join Towards Maturity’s LinkedIn discussion, please visit click here.

About Towards Maturity

Towards Maturity is a benchmarking research company that provides independent expert advice and support to help organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the largest learning technology benchmark in Europe. Since 2003 over 1800 organisations have contributed to the leading Towards Maturity benchmark.
 
Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors (19 leading learning organisations), annual benchmarking findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free at www.towardsmaturity.org.  To find out about Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors visit www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

To learn more about Towards Maturity’s unique benchmarking tools and models visit http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/ 

Giovanna Puma
Towards Maturity
T: +44 (0) 7764 561 782
E: giovanna@towardsmaturity.org

But hang on a minute... according to that same research by Towards Maturity, documented in the Boosting Business Agility report, the essential skills and confidence to embed learning technologies has pitifully declined. How did that happen?

This paradox may have come about as L&D budgets have been cut - new tools have been introduced. but there has been little thought for the continuing development for L&D department staff themselves.

Organisations may therefore be in the most bizarre situation of recognising the real benefits of the increasing use of learning technologies, such as eLearning and virtual classrooms, but in many cases lacking:

a) Either the budget to buy in expensive bespoke solutions; the in-house knowledge and skills to create their own eLearning content; or,

b) The confidence to experiment with cost effective learning technologies themselves.

Share freely and grow

One way around this conundrum is to share freely with your peers your knowledge, best practice and experience – of successes and failures – and even perhaps your resources and skills. Collaborating with your peers can save everyone involved valuable time and resources. It’s rare to come across a challenge that others before you haven’t faced, so why reinvent the wheel? And if you are breaking new ground, then sharing your experience can really make a difference to those that follow in your wake. The L&D community are great at giving one another support in this way.

So, if you are not taking advantage of the collective wisdom out there, I really recommend jumping in and building your own network. There are so many sources of support out there, and many of them are completely free, but you need to get involved. The more you contribute the more you will succeed, and here are six ideas to help you learn and grow:

• Learn from the masters: Tom Kuhlmann’s fantastic Rapid eLearning blog  is a constant source of inspiration, with free hints and tips on creating e-learning. If creating your own content is on your agenda, then this is the blog to watch. Clive Shepherd’s blog is a good read if you want to know about current themes and challenges in learning technologies.
• Support each other: TrainingZone has a selection of discussion groups that you can join, a free resources page, an active Any Answers forum and regular bulletins. Training Journal similarly has an active forum, with questions regularly emailed to members. Sign up to both websites to ask questions and provide answers – it’s entirely free.
• Learn together: The eLearning Network  is a membership organisation dedicated to supporting e-learning use – you can join for free as an associate member, and access their webinars and online resources. A very reasonable membership fee (they’re a not-for-profit) means you can upgrade to attend their events too, and also ask for help from their mentoring service. This is a fantastic means of getting practical advice if you are feeling your way with learning technologies.
• Join the conversation: Online social networking is also, as you’d probably expect from L&D practitioners, really flourishing in the learning sphere, with a regular learning tweet up Chat2lrn every other Thursday at 4pm. Anyone can join - follow the hashtag  #chat2lrn. Topics are posted in advance and transcripts are posted afterwards. And of course there are a whole host of LinkedIn groups with ongoing discussions – choose the one that feels right for you. If you’re interested in using social media for learning, then take a look at Jane Hart’s website for some fantastic resources. 
• Think differently about conferences: Conferences such as Learning Technologies, World of Learning and HRD all have a vast range of free seminars, and provide a real opportunity to meet other L&D practitioners. This year at Learning Technologies the keynote conference speech with Edward de Bono was broadcast to the exhibition floor, you could join various tweet ups and book free advice sessions – so there was lots to inspire. And if you attend the Learning Technologies conference, you can join the constantly growing Learning & Skills Group forum which is also very supportive. For example, they have a specific Content Creation Within Organisations group. 
• Don’t reinvent the wheel: Towards Maturity’s own free resources, including well researched case studies, can provide an independent perspective that can also help you on your way. Why learn from your own mistakes when you can learn from other people’s? The annual Towards Maturity benchmark is also a great way of knowing where you are at on your learning technologies journey, what gaps you need to address, with clear insight for future action.

The golden rule to joining these networks is to ‘pay it forward’ - give your own help, knowledge and experience freely, and it will come back to you tenfold: as in life, you will only get out of all of these groups what you are willing to contribute to them.

At The Charity Learning Consortium we have harnessed this concept of ‘paying it forward’ to such an extent that we are looking at marrying the skills of a subject matter expert from one charity with the e-Learning design expertise from another, and creating content that the entire group can share. It’s early days, but it’s an exciting project to be a part of, and a great example of true collaboration.

Members are also inspired by our video learning project, where they are creating what will become a huge library of video learning that all members can access. In America, instructional designers and e-Learning developers volunteer to create content specifically for members of our US counterpart Lingo’s – with their efforts celebrated in the Global Giveback awards. When you start to think collaboratively like this, the possibilities are endless!

Coming together collaboratively can spark ideas, ignite enthusiasm, and solve problems that may be daunting when you face them alone. At the heart of real collaboration is an essential truth that we all know and recognise – that together we are more powerful than on our own.

Connect & collaborate with me on LinkedIn and Twitter @martincbaker @charitylearning @corporateelearn

Martin Baker has contributed this article as part of our thought leader guest blog series . Find out more about Martin here.

Let me take a guess at your age. No really. I’d say that if you predominantly use email rather than social media, such Twitter or Facebook, then chances are you’re over the age of 40. In fact, people over the age of 50 have a 20-30% higher usage of email than any other demographic. By sharp contrast, there’s been a whopping 40 per cent drop in email usage by Millennials (those aged between18-33) over the last year alone, according to research by comScore.  

Times are changing. Fast. The internet has become the new social intermediary. One in eight people now meet their spouse online. Seventy eight per cent of European children have an online presence by the age of two. (That figure rises to ninety two per cent of two year olds in the US as parents post photos of their children on Facebook, Flickr, et al).  And it’s not just shaping our social lives. Our work lives are set to change dramatically by comparison to just a generation ago.

In less than two years, more than 47 per cent of the workforce will be Millennials. How do Millennials communicate? Like baby birds chirping for their next meal, they are constantly connected – whether it’s text, instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter or dozens of other single-rich applications. According to Pew Internet Foundation, an average Millennial might send and receive over 3,000 text messages per month. At any given moment, they might have six to ten instant message sessions open on their mobile device.

Baby Boomers communicate via email. For the first time in modern management history, leaders and front line employees are using dramatically different media channels. Management is at risk of failing to speak the language of the front line. If communication weren’t difficult enough already, it’s now become exacerbated by new choices of media and the frequency of the signals.

If you’re a Baby Boomer, in the next two years you will start to become a minority. Some estimates suggest that 1,000 Baby Boomers are retiring an hour. And if you’re not careful, social media will pass you by. It’s not a fad and it’s not going away. Nor does it need to be a distraction in the workplace. Why not harness it to accommodate the communication preferences of this new generation?

Take learning, for example. If your corporate learning function looks the same as it did five years ago, or even two years ago, then you have a problem. Learning must incorporate the features that make hanging out on social sites compelling – commenting, rating, tagging, signals of changes, rich media, user profiles, the ability to form communities, and so on.

One of the greatest impacts a learning function can make is to bridge the divide between strategy and execution. We do this by building the skills and knowledge of employees so that they can help execute business strategy.

The majority of companies today have less than six levels of management compared to 15 levels a generation ago, largely due to the efficiencies of technology.  This means you’re likely to stay in a mid-level job for longer today than your predecessors did. A combination of factors is impacting ‘traditional’ careers, such as the flattening structure of organisations, an ageing workforce and fewer promotion opportunities.

Organisations need to change the paradigm of what they consider to be a ‘career’.  Most people think of a career as a sequence of promotions that people move through. In today’s labour market, this is not sustainable. In the future, a career will be more characterised by promotions, transfers, secondments, and projects that allow individuals to build portable capabilities and competencies in the workplace. A career today is about building the employment value proposition of the individual through the mix of experiences individuals are provided. Learning is at the heart of this shift, and social media is the delivery mechanism for building these portable capabilities.

According to the Institute for Corporate Productivity, high performing organisations are more encouraging of social media use than low performers. Shared workspaces, wikis and blogs received the most encouragement from employers, whilst tools with more security concerns, such as social networks, shared media and micro-blogs were more likely to be discouraged or blocked. The same research revealed that eighty per cent of respondents believe their organisations do not use enough social media technologies for their learning activities. Regardless of the respondent group – large companies, small companies, Millennials or Baby Boomers etc – the majority of workers would like to see more social media use for corporate learning.

Don’t be left behind. Don’t be a low performing company. And don’t be anti-social.

This article has been contributed by Dr Karie Willyerd, Chief Learning Officer at SuccessFactors, an SAP company, one Towards Maturity's founding ambassadors who support the work of our independant benchmark, ensuring the results are freely available to all.

Karie is the co-author the best-selling book, The 2020 Workplace: How Innovate Companies Attract, Develop & Keep Tomorrow’s Employees Today and can be contacted at kwillyerd@successfactors.com

Find out more about SuccessFactors' Learning to Mind the  Gap initiative here

This was the Towards Maturity Challenge  for visitors and delegates to #LTUK12 and was at the heart of our conference contribution (you can download the slides below) but it also turned out to be the theme for the conference as a whole.   It is clear that conversations alone are not able to influence our actions and outcomes.

So for me the excellent Edward de Bono delivering his lo-tech but thought provoking keynote on day1 provided a framework that helped me to capture practical ways in which the conference can help us think differently and improve results. (read more on his work here).

 ‘Creative thinking can be blocked by familiarity’

He highlighted that something that is already successful blocks can block our ability to have different and better ideas. In the track that I was contributing to, we discussed how the benchmark highlights that 4 in 5 organisations are now using some form of learning management system, with self-paced elearning courses, 77% of organisations are also using live online learning environments. Reducing cost and improving access is a priority for over 4 out of 5 organisations and, on the surface these tools are  really helping us to deliver more for less , critical in today’s economic climate.

However, organisations now are looking for ways to become more agile, to encourage sharing and to respond faster to change. Top performers [measured by the Towards Maturity Index ] are thinking differently about these things and starting to embrace change but sadly the majority are not.Compared with 2008, we are less likely to agree today that our e-learning supports the skills the business needs; we’re even backing away from training our trainers how to blend technology more effectively.

Are we now ‘living in a box’, blinkered by past experience successes and an overwhelming desire to reduce risk?

EBNE - excellent but not enough

Edward de Bono used this term to help us challenge our thinking by considering that an idea might be excellent but not good enough. Evidenced by our behavior, our current thinking is clearly ‘elearning is great for compliance training and imparting knowledge ‘. This has a form of excellence, - it works, it delivers results and businesses are demanding more.

However our research clearly shows that for the majority stop at this point but the top performers go on to do more. The conference illustrated a wide range of areas where we can go deeper still.

For example Guy Giffin created a great case for the use of modeling and simulation in developing complex and subtle tacit skills such as communication and stakeholder influence. Our old style 15 minute course or 1 hour web presentation won’t hack it in this area but harnessing the power of technology to model behavior and provide branching really has the power to  make a difference.

Joanne Jacobs highlighted how we can move beyond consuming online resources to really start to engage staff in sharing and collaboration using social media by building trust.  

Having alternative ideas does not mean that current ideas are not relevant

The debate around formal and informal learning has been going on for some time and yet we are seeing little progress in adopting the opportunities outlined by Joanne Jacobs and others throughout the event – in fact 45% of us still only see ‘the course’ as the only option for building performance.* Edward de Bono encouraged us to consider that we can explore alternative ideas without rejecting the current ones. 

Boyd Glover from Dixon’s Retail speaking on the exhibition floor opened with a challenge ‘ Informal or formal learning – why not both?’ and went onto discuss how integrating informal sharing strategies with formal learning approaches on the shop floor resulted in a 30% increase in revenues for new laptops launched. Boyd drew closely on Bob Mosher’s 5 moments of need to help him think through the best ways of combining formal and informal learning. In fact Bob, speaking at the LT eXchange also highlighted that by introducing performance support ideas during formal learning itself is a great strategy for encouraging change.

Challenging familiar allows us to introduce change

In the opening keynote we were encouraged to challenge – challenge is never an attack .So how do we challenge our familiar and successful approaches?

Professor Steve Wheeler, speaking at the new LT eXchange, encouraged us to seek out and learn from the ‘positive deviant’, who is out there currently driving innovation by challenging the rules and sometimes going against them? He certainly provided a number of examples where bending the rules created new opportunities that were subsequently embraced.

Nic Laycock also highlighted how that crucial challenge can also come from within the businesses itself. He outlined in his session how the South African Energy giant Eskom is in the process of completely transforming their thinking driven primarily by a critical business need to have a vast number of highly skilled individuals to fulfill their business objectives. It was clear that traditional learning approaches would not be enough which has led to senior executive commitment to innovation and experimentation with new approaches where staff can learn from immersive experiences and from sharing with each other in new and creative ways.

Parallel thinking – looking at a problem from 6 different perspectives

We know that introducing any change comes with challenges but applying Edward de Bono’s ideas around parallel thinking and considering a problem from different perspectives (6 Hat thinking) can work really well.
One problem many face is the unwilling learner and Mark Bethelemy from Captita  and Gareth Williams from Cambian Group both highlighted  the importance of engaging stakeholders in discussing the issues before necessarily coming up with the solutions. This approach to looking at a problem from many perspectives can really work – I’d love to see it taken one step further by applying the 6 hat principles directly to the challenge!

Emphasise benefits not novelty!

When asked the question ‘how can we overcome resistance to new ideas and change?’ Edward de Bono stressed the importance of demonstrating value back to business. Kevin Streater from the OU and Matt de Feo, Snr VP of Sales, Training and Recruiting at Techtronics underlined this when they emphasised the importance of aligning new learning approaches to metrics that really matter to the business communicating those successes back to key business stakeholders.  From our own research we know that less than 2 in 5 organisations monitor results against pre-agreed business indicators top performers are and 3 in 5 organisations don’t even communicate successes to business managers*.

Stop talking, start thinking

This last one isn’t an insight from the man himself just one of my own reflections! From our own research we know that organisations who think differently in these areas are getting great results!* Talking about change and how new technologies can support that change doesn’t deliver – thinking differently does!  Learning Technologies 2012 certainly provided much food for thought, now it is time to think, decide and act!

* statistics taken from the 2011- 12 Towards Maturity Benchmark which can be downloaded at www.towardsmaturity.org/2011benchmark.

• Sector reports
• In-Focus reports

Both build on the organisation’s nine-year track record of producing the leading European Industry Benchmark. Drawing on data from 1,800 organisations, The Towards Maturity Benchmark is considered the most comprehensive independent review of the use of learning technologies in the UK workplace. (The 2011-12 report is available for free download at: www.towardsmaturity.org/2011benchmark).

Sector reports have been launched in response to widespread demand for an analysis that drills deeper into the practical issues within individual business sectors. Industries covered in the initial tranche of reports include:

• IT and Telecoms
• Public/Private Sector
• Health and Social Care
• Finance and Insurance
• Learning Services Providers

In-Focus Reports dig more deeply into implementation issues and feature case studies. The first In-Focus report is a briefing that L&D staff can use with senior managers to help them understand the bottom line business benefits of using learning technologies within their organisation. As an introductory offer, this first In-Focus report will be supplied free to all who register as members of the growing Towards Maturity Research Community at the Learning Technologies Show. Registered members of the Research Community will also receive special discounts on the new sector benchmark reports.

Towards Maturity will be launching the new report ranges at this year’s Learning Technologies Exhibition 2012 on the 25th and 26th of January at Olympia, London on Stand 45. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to register for both the research community and their free in Focus Report on the stand.

In addition, Towards Maturity consultants will be providing practical help and direction for visitors to the event who want to understand the changing face of learning – helping them to make the most productive use possible of their time at this busy and ever-expanding show.

Visitors should call at Stand 45 to access these free events and resources:

• Think Differently roadmap – a guide to Towards Maturity Ambassador organisations who are offering free resources, tutorials and apps at the show, and a takeaway infographic to spark ideas and open up conversations after the show.

• LT eXchange – meet, tweet and network with the conference speakers: in conjunction with Training Journal, Towards Maturity is bringing conference thinking directly to the exhibition floor.

• The Think Differently Top 20 – Towards Maturity has identified the most useful of the free floor seminars

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, ‘I am delighted to announce this extension of our services, which has been in response to overwhelming demand from our rapidly growing user community. Different industry sectors tend to have very individual issues and different maturity profiles when it comes to their use of learning innovation. It is also wonderful to be able to give more detail on implementation practices. Learning and development professionals across the industry will have even more to gain from a relationship with Towards Maturity. We look forward to welcoming people on Stand 45, wherever they are in their learning journey, and helping to steer them in the right direction.’

 
About Towards Maturity

Towards Maturity's is a benchmarking company that provides independent expert advice and support to help organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the UK's largest learning technology benchmark, gathered by Towards Maturity over 9 years with over 1800 organisations.

Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity Ambassadors (16 leading learning organisations), annual benchmarking findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website. www.towardsmaturity.org

To find out about our ambassadors visit click here.

To learn more about Towards Maturity benchmarking tools and models visit. 

Laura Overton, Managing Director will be encouraging the main conference delegates to play an active role in helping their businesses become more agile in 2012. However this will mean challenging preconceived ideas and even past experiences of using learning and technology.
 
The Towards Maturity team is also providing practical help and direction for visitors to the Learning Technologies event who want to understand the changing face of learning - helping them to make the most productive use possible of their time at this busy and ever-expanding show.

Visitors can download these resources to help them plan their visit to the show and should call at Stand 45 to access these free events and resources:

•  Think Differently Roadmap - a guide to Towards Maturity Ambassador organisations who are offering free resources, tutorials and apps at the show, and a takeaway infographic to spark ideas and open up conversations after the show
•  LT eXchange - meet, tweet and network with the conference speakers: in conjunction with Training Journal, Towards Maturity is bringing conference thinking directly to the exhibition floor
•  Think Differently Top 20 - Towards Maturity has identified the most useful of the free floor seminars: download  a free list 

 
In addition, Towards Maturity will be making a major announcement about an extension of its research services at the show, building on its nine-year track record of producing the leading European Industry Benchmark. Drawing on data from 1,800 organisations, The Towards Maturity Benchmark is considered the most comprehensive independent review of the use of learning technologies in the UK workplace. The 2011-12 report is available for free download at www.towardsmaturity.org/2011benchmark

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, 'Learning Technologies is such a busy and ever-expanding show that it's easy to miss out on really good ideas and events if you don't know what you're looking for. So we've organised routes and events for people who seriously want to find out about using learning technologies to dramatically improve business results. Take on the Towards Maturity Challenge, and we guarantee you'll be think differently about learning afterwards - and have useful insights and practical tools to take home with you.'
 

About Towards Maturity
 
Towards Maturity's is a benchmarking company that provides independent expert advice and support to help organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the UK's largest learning technology benchmark, gathered by Towards Maturity over 9 years with over 1800 organisations.
 
Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity Ambassadors (16 leading learning organisations), annual benchmarking findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website. www.towardsmaturity.org
 
To find out about our ambassadors visit www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors
 
To learn more about Towards Maturity benchmarking tools and models visit http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/

If you want to improve business results through learning technologies this year, then it is time to put aside previous experiences,shake off preconceived ideas and THINK DIFFERENTLY!

 We have been pouring over the 2011-12 benchmark research and identified several areas where top performers excel and have brought them together in a new infographic (thanks to our ambassador Brightwave) which will be available to pick up at Learning Technologies 2012 (25/26 January Olympia) at our stand 45.You can also download it today as part of our LT Think differently challenge (see page 2).

We've also been reviewing the free resources and seminar programmes available at Learning technologies to help you think differently and become a top performer:

THINK DIFFERENTLY at Learning Technologies 2012 - Get prepared with our new roadmap

If you are visiting Learning Technologies next week, there are plenty of opportunities to challenge your thinking and learn from others experience, however the event can be a little overwhelming.

Towards Maturtiy's ambassadors and supporters will be out in force at the show and provide collective insights and experiences that will challenge your current thinking forever! Visit us at the show and pick up practical ideas and resources to use back at work.

Get prepared by downloading our Think Differently roadmap below. Just keep an eye out for our proud to support sign on the day and use this as a checklist for your must have takeaways that will really influence your success this year.

Also, don't miss:

• Learning Technologies eXchange and use the event to collaborate with speakers and peers  
• Join us at the event Tweet-Up at 12.45 each day (Stand 45 on day 1, stand 218 day 2)
• Our top 20 of the free seminars available

REGISTER for Learning Technologies for Free today!

Meet us on Stand 45.

Over 600 organisations took part in the 2011 Towards Maturity Benchmark and received a free personalised report that looked at implementation strengths and weaknesses.

January is a great time to take a fresh look at the results and resolve to focus on one or 2 areas to improve impact, take up and results for 2012.

Why not bring your report along to Learning Technologies and discuss some new ideas with the TM team on stand 45?

 If you are currently overwhelmed by choice and struggling to decide, take a look at the following that include direct case studies from National Autistic Society, techtronic Industries Inc, Dixons, Jaguar Landrover and  the British Army (all of which i would definitely recommend!)

You can attend them for free by registering for the event here.

Also don't forget to visit us on Stand 45 (first floor) where we will be hosting the Learning Technology eXchange.

Day 1 - Wednesday 25th January 

 Learning Technologies  – First floor Olympia 2

• How to build a mobile app in 15 minutes! Epic
• Share. save. collaborate: what corporates can learn from charity L&D – The National Autistic Society
• Are you ready for the millenium generation? - CERTPOINT
• Heads in the cloud - how are content strategies evolving in the workplace? – Brightwave debate hosted by Don Tayor
• Engaging 14,000 employees through an effective learning management solution –Dixons
• Immerse yourself in experiential learning to discover how to really engage learners – Toolwire

Learning and Skills  -  Ground Floor Olympia 2

• Jaguar Land Rover: world beating products, world leading learning -  Jaguar Landrover
• Smooth blends: how to add virtual classrooms to the learning mix - Brightwave
•  Linking learning and performance with talent management and succession - e2train
• Video for learning – whatever the subject, device, or budget! -  Epic 

Day 2 – Thursday 26th January

Learning Technologies  -  First floor Olympia 2

• Design innovation: 10 ways to improve the learner experience - Brightwave
• Learning and analytics- identifying the link between workforce data, people development and productivity with your bottom line - Successfactors
•  How to build a mobile App in 15 minutes - Epic
• Proving the Impact of Business Led Learning - Techtronic Industries Inc
• Best practice for live online learning – training in the cloud – BNY Mellon Asset Servicing(connect with Dave as well in the eXchanges programme)
• Mobile learning: British Army and Jaguar Land Rover case studies with Major Roy Evans (Retd) and Adrian Birch PhD
• Blending mobile strategy for business agility and impact – Information Transfer
•  Linking learning and performance with talent management and succession - e2 train

 Learning and Skills – Ground Floor Olympia 2

• Transforming learning and development - Onlignment
• Next generation blended learning – unleashing the power of formal and informal/social learning Successfactors 
• Join the “ban boring elearning” campaign - eLearning network 
• Could Facebook be the saviour of L&D? Think. Argue. Debate....- The Charity Learning Consortium
• The very best technology for workplace performance - Onlignment 
• Building on Learning Architectures-  Line Communications

Update 18th January

• Full agenda for exchange programme is now published below
• Book your place at the show on Stand 45 (for LT exchanges) and Stand 218 for L&S exchanges or just turn up 5 minutes before the exchange is due to start to join in (spaces allowed!)
• Make a note to join the Tweet -up at 12.45 each day - open to all!
• eXchanges is free to participate for anyone registered to attend the Learning Technologies or Learning and Skills exhibition at Olympia 25th and 26th January  - follow the links to register for the exhibition.

 Introducing the eXchange

Learning Technologies and Learning and Skills is hosting an official eXchange to give the learning and development community a chance to meet, network and collaborate at the event. eXchanges will provide a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with speakers from the conference and will host the event’s ‘tweet up’.

The Learning Technologies  eXchange provides an opportunity for visitors, delegates and speakers to collaborate, exchanging ideas and experiences around themes being discussed in the conference and on the exhibition floors that will influence learning success in 2012.

Exchanges will take the form of conversations throughout the day looking at answers to practical questions that will stimulate innovation and creativity in learning and development. The conversations will take  place online or face to face at the Learning Technologies Exchange area powered by Towards Maturity at  Stand 45 or in the Learning and Skills eXchange area (stand 218) powered by Towards Maturity and partner Training Journal.

eXchange ideas directly with conference speakers

It is the first time that experts who are speaking at the conference will be involved in conversations as part of the exhibition. Throughout the day, eXchanges will consider a range of practical questions to promote learning excellence. Attendees can book to take part in small group face-to-face conversations with the speakers directly or can take part live via social media channels. - see the growing list of speakers who are participating below.

For those in attendance at both the conference and the exhibitions, the eXchange will also host the event’s official ‘tweet ups’ at 12.45 each day. These scheduled sessions are an informal opportunity for attendees to meet up with existing contacts, network and meet new people.

The team is encouraging all attendees who use Twitter to visit the eXchange stand on arrival at the event to collect their blue sticker and identify themselves to fellow users. Attendees of the conference will be able to collect their stickers at registration
 
Who can you meet?

 You can get involved in 4 ways:
 
• Book a slot to take part in the face to face conversations with speakers

• Visit the exchange area to provide your ideas on the eXchange wall

• Get involved in the conversation via Twitter (#LT12uk or #LAS12UK )
• Join your peers to catch up informally event Tweet up in the LT eXchange area at 12.45, These will take place on day 1 at the LT Exchange area (stand 45) and day 2 at  the L&S eXchanges area (stand 218

Finally don't forget that you will need to register for a free exhibition pass to take part in the eXchange (NB you only need to register to one of the exhibitions, once inside you can move freely between the floors!):

•  for Learning technologies go to - http://www.learningtechnologies.co.uk/register-now/
• For Learning and Skills go to - http://www.learningandskillsevents.com/registration-page/

Despite the predictions of great thinkers in our industry, nobody can be 100% certain about what work will look like or how we will be developing skills within the corporations of the future. This can make it very difficult to plan effectively today. As learning professionals we have a certain level of control in our immediate working environment – we can influence our employees, our suppliers, our business leaders even. But all of us are working in an environment where external factors such as legislation, technology, the economy and demographics are constantly changing. These drivers are outside our immediate control but play a critical role in defining the future of work and learning. So how can we prepare effectively for the future of corporate learning when nobody can be certain about what it will look like?

This was a question running through this year’s Business Educa strand at Online Educa Berlin that gathered over 2000 participants from business and education together from 96 countries at the beginning of December. Business Educa was established last year to specifically address the needs of those working in corporate learning. The business agenda was extended in 2011 to focus on scenario planning as a way of leveraging all of the "brainpower" at the conference (and beyond). The intention is to create a tangible resource to help organisations prepare more effectively for the future.  The scenario planning process was led by Willem Manders and Hans de Zwart from Shell. As an organisation, Shell has been involved with the development of scenarios over a number of years as a strategic business planning tool, where they are used to open up conversations prior to formulating future strategies.

Scenario creation is a useful aspect of future planning for many organisations but, until Business Educa, the approach had not been adapted to consider the future of corporate learning.

“Scenarios are stories about the future, but their purpose is to make better decisions in the present” – Scenarios: an explorer’s guide, Shell.

What are Scenarios?

A scenario is basically a story that describes a possible future and their aim is to broaden people’s perspectives on the future to help us to become more adaptable in the face of change. At Business Educa participants gathered in a pre- conference workshop to start the scenario process, considering the driving forces for change and identifying the uncertainties associated with those key trends. These were then used to construct 4 example scenarios - see table below (you can following the process used at http://learningscenarios.org/). 

Challenging our thinking about the future

As the conference progressed, it was clear that both delegates and speakers found that the scenarios challenged the status quo (which is what they are designed to do). Many of us have a fixed view of what we think the future will look like, but across the conference the scenarios started to open up new conversations as delegates identified where they currently sat and what changes they could see coming.

Nic Laycock, spoke at Business Educa about the learning journey at Eskom, who generate 95% of the electricity in South Africa. Nic subsequently reflected on how the scenarios helped him to understand the journey that the company is currently taking:

‘Having been part of the scenario development workshop at Business Educa, the output from it is helpful in understanding where Eskom, with whom I have worked for some time, stands in its journey in learning. Its start position, a few years ago was clearly in the OLD BOY NETWORK segment, dominated by traditional structures and the engineering discipline mentality.

Steps have been taken to introduce more systems into HR and learning to help capture data to drive decisions (BIG DATA) but this has not taken off, failing to deliver the flexibility needed. Social networking and the information explosion are currently making a big impact in the business, loosening of some long held tenets around systems and structures.

The company is clearly moving step by step and in an experimental and exploratory manner into IN CROWD territory. However the fundamental question the organisation faces is balancing the IN CROWD culture with an industry structure built for very good reasons (safety) on procedure, protocol and compliance. These scenarios provide a useful snapshot to help us consider how to track and monitor what happens in the future.’

How to use scenarios to help you plan for the future

Preparing for the future is always tricky particularly when you don’t know where your ultimate destination will be or what you will find there when you get there. One key to preparation is to keep an open mind. As in the case at Eskom, it may not be an either/or situation – many of these stories could exist in one organisation but using the scenarios to test and review our current plans will mean we are better equipped for whatever the future might hold.

 Here are some ways that you can use scenarios to help you prepare for the future*:

1 Consider how your potential decisions will play out across the different scenarios before you make them, for example what are the risks and opportunities:

• When you are taking decisions on a long term basis 
• When  you are considering a major investment
• When restructuring your learning team

2 Use scenarios to develop new conversations  and new ways of thinking within your team and across your business:

• What does learning innovation look like within each of the 4 scenarios?
• Which scenarios reflect our organisation on a global basis or a local basis now?
• What evidence are we seeing that these scenarios might emerge in our business? In other’s business?
• In what ways can we minimise risk surrounding our decisions in each of the scenarios?

3 Look for evidence for each of the scenarios right now to help you develop your thinking further:

• Are there signs that one or more of these worlds are emerging in your own business?
• Are there signs that one or more of these worlds are emerging outside of your business?
• Test the evidence and advice you are receiving against each of the scenarios – does it work better in one world than another? would it need to be adapted for a different world

4 Contribute to the Scenario development

• The scenarios are not static and should continue to be developed as the evidence is collated
• Contribute your thoughts at http://learningscenarios.org/

* Based on observations from Willem Manders, Royal Dutch Shell

The unfinished story - take part in the next chapter:

Delegates at Business Educa were invited to continue reflecting and contribute to the development of the scenarios but this work is really only just beginning.

Find out more and get involved at    http://learningscenarios.org/

Follow progress on Learning Scenarios on twitter @lrnscen

• The current trends for adoption of live online learning
• What benefits are already being achieved by UK organisations
• How live online learning is being used as part of blended solutions
• Hints and tips for success

  
You can download the notes and slides from the event below.

You can also download the Harnessing the power of live online learning report below (you will need to be registered to this site to download the report).

The webinar was also recorded and will be available soon.

Sector looks beyond the classroom at new learning models to improve competitive advantage

LONDON, December 1 2011 – The findings of the first European study on new approaches to learning  within the automotive sector are now available. 15 of the largest European automotive manufacturers contributed to the free, Driving Results with Learning Technologies in the Automotive Sector report.The study, commissioned by Toyota Motor Europe, was conducted by benchmarking company Towards Maturity earlier this year.

The automotive industry has been hard hit by the recession with production levels down and falling sales. Yet the sector continues to innovate with competitive advantage going to those who are able to quickly respond to market demand and provide excellent customer service. Maintaining and building the skills of key customer-facing staff in dealerships across Europe is critical in achieving this and the sector is looking beyond the classroom to new learning models and media to address these skills more efficiently and effectively.

Compared to other sectors, the automotive sector is relatively experienced in using technology in learning, with the majority of automotive manufacturers using some form of technology enabled learning for over 3 years.  In total 55% of learning within the sector is e-enabled which is significantly higher than the 22% benchmark average. The automotive sector is much more likely than other sectors to focus on general sales and customer service skills, and slightly more likely to focus on leadership and management, induction and industry specific regulatory requirements.

Within the sector, there is a general trend to decrease the amount of face-to- face ‘traditional’ classroom training and to increase the amount of blended learning or entirely online training offered. On average 45% of all learning is face-to-face, 41% is blended and 14% is entirely online.

The automotive sector is using a board mix of technologies to address these challenges including virtual classrooms 37% and mobile learning 11%. Mobile learning is on the rise in the sector with 50% of respondents intending to introduce mobile learning in the next two years.

Compared to other sectors, the automotive sector is engaging a higher percentage of staff with e-learning (69% vs.57%), reporting greater saving in study time (27% vs. 22%) and finding greater improvements in staff satisfaction and engagement (11% vs.8%). 

The top barriers to learning technology adoption are linked to ICT infrastructure and access - a barrier that has been declining in other sectors, as access improves. The sector is also less likely to have the support of senior managers. However they are much less likely to report lack of skills of learners and lack of skills of L&D, as a barrier than other sectors

Sann René Glaza, Senior Manager of Customer Service Training Centre, Toyota Motor Europe said, “Some years ago Toyota Motor Europe embarked on an ambitious project to roll out a learning management system across all its markets. However, it is always useful to stop and make a check of where we are, what we could be doing better, and what we might need for the future. This report contains findings that will help us all do just that. The good news is that the automotive sector is embracing learning technologies as an effective way to reach our network with valuable knowledge. A challenge for us all is to continue searching for the link between knowledge transfer and critical business indicators that will convince first line supervisors up to retail management of the value of investing in human resource development.”

Most organisations in the sector, have seen their overall training budget increase over the last 2 years, and anticipate further increase over the next 2 years. Most anticipate that the proportion allocated to learning technologies will continue to increase.

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “Building the skills and confidence of frontline staff is critical for all organisations and the automotive sector are really using learning technologies to increase skill levels and improve competitive advantage. This in-depth report shares many practical insights for any business looking to increase the impact of learning technologies, especially across multiple countries.”

The report entitled Driving Results with Learning Technologies in the Automotive Sector is free to download below

Towards Maturity has worked with other major organisations on sector reports. To commission a specific sector report, please contact nigel@towardsmaturity.org

Notes to editors:

The launch of the study coincides with, Sann René Glaza, Senior Manager of Customer Service Training Centre for Toyota Motor Europe, speaking  in the Business Educa track at ONLINE EDUCA Berlin. She will be discussing 'Building Technical Competency at Toyota Motor Europe to drive competitive advantage'.  Sann René Glaza's conference session is on December 2nd at 11.45 am.

http://www.online-educa.com/business-educa

About Towards Maturity

Towards Maturity’s is a benchmarking company that provides independent expert advice and support to help organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the UK’s largest learning technology benchmark, gathered by Towards Maturity over 8 years with over 1800 organisations.

Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity Ambassadors (sixteen leading learning organisations), annual benchmarking findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website.www.towardsmaturity.org

To find out about our ambassadors visit www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

To learn more about Towards Maturity benchmarking tools and models visit http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/ 

The report below is free to download but you will need to login or register to download it. Press Contacts please contact Giovanna Puma for your copy

Thanks to the support of the Ambassadors, Towards Maturity’s internationally recognised learning technologies Benchmark Study is completely free to participate in and provides its participants with personalised reports to improve the impact of learning technologies through best practice.
 
Over the eight years of benchmarking, over 1800 organisations across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors have benefited from the Toward Maturity’s popular free research. In 2011 70% of organisations that completed the study found new ideas to help improve e-learning implementations. 

e2train’s CEO, Rob Caul comments on joining Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme,”e2train have been closely involved with Towards Maturity for some time and is now delighted to join the ambassador group – we value independent evidence and are passionate about sharing good practice.”

e2train join 15 other leading learning technology companies who are part of Towards Maturity Ambassdor Programme. They work together as Ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practice, raising awareness and driving the whole learning industry forward.

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “We are thrilled that e2train is now part of our growing Ambassador Programme, it shares our aim to empower individuals and organisations to learn effectively, improve performance and manage talent through best practice. I’m delighted that this multiple award-winning company has joined our programme.”
 
The 2011 Benchmark Study in-depth benchmark report was launched on November the 10th.  It is available to download for free from towardsmaturity.org/2011benchmark.

For more information on joining the Toward Maturity Ambassador Programme please visit http://www.towardsmaturity.org/static/towards-maturity-ambassador-programme/ or email nigel@towardsmaturity.org.

About e2train
e2train is an award-winning supplier of learning, performance, talent management and succession planning technologies. The company’s vision is to empower individuals and organisations to learn effectively, improve performance and manage talent by being a trusted provider of innovative technology-based solutions and services. Learning professionals throughout the world use Kallidus software to create, deliver and manage learning and performance management operations. Its new brand, 81Boxes, is an easy-to-use talent management and succession planning, SaaS based, software service.

e2train also offers a wide variety of e-learning content, including bespoke, generic and rapid e-learning, enabling users to offer a more flexible learning solution that incorporates blended learning options and a comprehensive library of courses.
e2train gained the Deloitte Fast 50 Technology award in 2005, 2007 and 2008. In 2010, it won a Gold Award at the e-learning awards for its e-learning content production.

About Towards Maturity
Towards Maturity’s is a benchmarking company that provides independent expert advice and support to help organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the UK’s largest learning technology benchmark, gathered by Towards Maturity over 8 years with over 1800 organisations.

Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity Ambassadors (sixteen leading learning organisations), annual benchmarking findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website.www.towardsmaturity.org

To find out about our ambassadors visit www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

To learn more about Towards Maturity benchmarking tools and models visit http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/ 

Giovanna Puma
Towards Maturity
T: +44 (0) 7764 561 782
E: giovanna@towardsmaturity.org

Learning technologies are helping organisations:

• reduce proven competency time by 35%,
•  roll-out new IT systems faster by 33% and
•  improve product and processes changes by 33%.

With 64% of participants expected to allocate a greater proportion of their overall training budget to learning technologies in the next two years. Towards Maturity’s research findings revealed how L&D professionals are looking at learning technologies to increase access to learning (89% of participants), increase flexibility (85%), improve quality of learning (84%), reduce training costs (83%) and extend the reach of training (82%).

Craig McCoy, HR Director, Bupa Health and Wellbeing who participated in the Benchmark Study said, “It is time to move learning technologies up the value curve. If HR is looking to establish a credible relationship with the business, we can’t afford to ignore the tangible business benefits illustrated by this report. Investment in innovative learning approaches facilitates business agility and can support business generation, improve customer service and increase organisational efficiency.”

Organisations are using learning technologies to improve induction 79%, employee engagement 78% and talent management 68%. In contrast, 60% of managers are not giving employees’ time to learn.  

The study also highlights how 55% of organisations agree that face-to-face classroom courses are no longer the only option for improving skills and performance in the workplace. In the current fast changing environment 78% of organisations are now using technology to improve the sharing of effective learning methods between staff, using a variety of platforms including social networks, video and mobile phones.

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “Despite the growing investment in learning technologies, a shocking percentage of organisations are not using their learning technologies to their full potential. I urge the learning industry to download our free report and learn from their peers.  Our research study has highlighted those organisations that are mature users of learning technologies are twice as likely to be more agile, efficient and have significantly better talent management processes.”

The 600 organisations that participated in the study received a complimentary personalised benchmark report. Within the report is a Towards Maturity Index (TMI) figure that provides organisations with a benchmark measurement of how well they have implemented their learning technologies, across six work streams of good practice. Towards Maturity has identified companies in the top quartile of the scale are twice as likely to report improvements in agility, influencing business impact and improving opportunities for talent management than the average company.

The Towards Maturity 2011 Benchmark Study 60 page report is available to download for free at towardsmaturity.org/2011benchmark thanks to Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors, 16 leading learning organisations. They work together as Ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practice, raising awareness and driving the whole learning industry forward.

The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE Communications, LMMatters, SuccessFactors, REDTRAY and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Speex, SkillSoft, Fusion-Universal, Information Transfer, learndirect, e2train and Toolwire.  

Notes to editors:
The 2011 Benchmark Study research was conducted online from June 6th to August 16th 2011 by 600 organisations.

Other research findings include:

• Participant demographics – 600 organisations participated from private (57%), public (30%) and not for profit (13%) sectors
• 66% UK of participants are from the UK
• Employers are investing 18% of budgets in learning technologies
• 26% of all formal learning programmes are now e-enabled in some way

• Mobile learning (39%)
• Virtual meeting/classroom (77%)
• Social media (41%)
• Video (61%)
• Cloud technology (20%)
• Skills diagnostics (41%)

 About Towards Maturity

Towards Maturity’s is a benchmarking company that provides independent expert advice and support to help organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the UK’s largest learning technology benchmark, gathered by Towards Maturity over 8 years with over 1800 organisations.

Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity Ambassadors (sixteen leading learning organisations), annual benchmarking findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website.www.towardsmaturity.org

To find out about our ambassadors visit www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors.
To learn more about Towards Maturity benchmarking tools and models visit http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/  

Press contacts:
Giovanna Puma
Towards Maturity
T: +44 (0) 7764 561 782
E: giovanna@towardsmaturity.org

Towards Maturity has worked with CERTPOINT SYSTEMS - one of Towards Maturity's Ambassadors, to create a new free white paper to help multinational organisations get up and running faster.

The paper considers four areas to help you through the complexities of understanding how to work in a global context and takes a closer look at:

• Governance Models
• Implementation considerations ( including language, technical and branding tips)
• Engagement
• How to launch and roll out

For the first time , the paper also provides an insight from the Towards Maturity Benchmark on the successful implementation behaviours of multinational organisations.

Related case studies that help to bring the ideas to life :

• A snapshot of e-learning implentation at Toyota
• L'Oreal Case study - learning for all ( a CERTPOINT case study)
• Why Black and Decker is using mobile learning today ( a CERTPOINT case study)

 Other resources for global organisations can be found on the Towards Maturity site by following our Going Global tag.

You will need to log in or register to download this free white paper. We'll also share  your email address with our colleagues at CERTPOINT who have helped develop this paper.

LONDON, September 27 2011 – Benchmarking company, Towards Maturity today launches its Headstart Programme, especially designed to help organisations boost the impact that learning technologies are having in their companies.
 
This unique programme combines a tailored workshop and the use of innovative benchmarking tools to help improve business performance. The programme targets priority learning areas through a three step progress of review, compare and act.

Organisations on the Headstart programme will review their current implementation of learning technologies and results, compare their findings against established good practices and finally, identify priority action areas to help improve the company’s learning strategy going forward.

Towards Maturity research has found that 70% of organisations that just complete the review stage of this three step approach find new ideas to improve their learning technology strategy.

The Towards Maturity Implementation Model is at the heart of the Headstart Programme. The leading model is based on the UK’s largest learning technology benchmark, gathered by Towards Maturity over 8 years and includes the data of 1800 organisations. The model is based on six areas of good practice implementation that are proven to help improve the results of learning technologies.

Attendees of the Headstart Programme will find out their organisation’s unique Towards Maturity Index, the measurement of how mature an organisation’s learning technology implementation is and, more importantly how to improve it. Companies in the top quartile of the TMI scale engage twice the audience, save an additional 33% of cost and 50% in reduced study time. Their staff also reach proven competency 6 times faster as a result of using learning technologies.¹

The Headstart Programme also includes a year’s Premium membership to Towards Maturity innovative online Benchmark Centre. Worth £600, Premium membership provides participants with a detailed personalised benchmark report and a list of recommended actions tailored to their organisation.

The centre also allows an organisation to review their benchmark on an on-going basis and keep up-to-date with the latest benchmark research to help them improve performance. Through Towards Maturity’s online Benchmark Centre, members have access to leading learning technologies case studies, videos, hints and tips.
 
Laura Overton, Towards Maturity’s Managing Director comments, “Our years of research have shown that the range and complexity of learning technologies are growing. It’s a mind-field for organisations at any stage of implementing learning technologies. In this changing economic climate, business agility is growing in importance and our new Headstart Programme helps organisations use technology in learning to react to change and improve business performance”

Run by leading learning consultants, Towards Maturity’s Headstart Programme can help at any stage of a learning technology implementation, whether an organisation, has just started using learning technologies; need to fully engage staff to new way of learning; want to increase staff engagement or want to learn from common mistakes rather than making their own.
 
Designed for a team of up-to ten people, the five hour workshop can be run at a company’s premise for just £1500. As an introductory offer, Towards Maturity is offering a 10% discount off this price for enquiries before October 7th.

Towards Maturity has run similar workshops for major organisations in the private, public and not-for- profit sectors. For more information about the programme please contact nigel@towardsmaturity.org.
 
¹ data from 2010 Towards Maturity Benchmark Study, www.towardsmaturity.org2010benchmark

About Towards Maturity
Toward Maturity’s is a benchmarking company that provides independent expert advice and support to help organisations use learning technologies to accelerate business performance. It leverages the data of its in-depth Benchmark Study, the UK’s largest learning technology benchmark, gathered by Towards Maturity over 8 years with over 1800 organisations.

Thanks to the support of Towards Maturity Ambassadors (fifteen leading learning organisations), annual benchmarking findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website.www.towardsmaturity.org

To find out about our ambassadors visit www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

To learn more about Towards Maturity benchmarking tools and models visit http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/ 

Press contacts:
Giovanna Puma
Toward Maturity
T: +44 (0) 7764 561 782
E: giovanna@towardsmaturity.org

A record 600 organisations across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors participated in the study, 50 percent more organisations than in 2010. Whilst 66% of participants were UK based companies, the study has increased its participants among European companies, US and Canadian companies and Middle East, Africa and India companies.

Over the last eight years, 1800 organisations have contributed to Towards Maturity’s in-depth benchmark. The 2011 Benchmark Study 40 page report will be launched on November the 10th at a joint webinar with the UK’s Learning and Skills Group. On the same day it will also be available to download for free from towardsmaturity.org/2011benchmark.

CLICK TO REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR LAUNCH on 10th NOVEMBER

The study analyses how organisations’ learning strategies are responding to uncertain economic times, including how this climate is affecting budgets, technology changes and the building of talent. It will also reveal the impact learning technologies are having in organisations of different sizes and sectors. Furthermore it will uncover the hype verses the reality of learning technology trends, whilst detailing drivers, barriers and benefits.

A snapshot of the study’s impressive findings show L&d professionals increasingly focused on using learning technologies to help supoort business agility. 72% of companies believe that learning technologies will help them respond faster to changing business conditions, an increase of 11% from 2010. Specifically organisations believe that learning technologies can help them with complying with new regulations; supporting organisational change and increasing productivity.

Download the preliminary benchmarking report.

Interestingly, in 2011, online surveys, e-learning courses and Learning Management Systems remain the most widely used technologies, but there has been an increase in virtual meetings, sharing of video content and virtual classrooms – the latter three now in use by almost 50% of organisations surveyed. Mobile learning is growing steadily and becoming established as a mainstream technology for learning.

Organisations are also reporting in 2011 more barriers. For the last three years, the top barriers are all to do with the knowledge, skills and confidence of the L&D team, their perceptions that their learners are not ready and willing for technology, and the reluctance of management to adopt new ways of working.

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “I’m delighted by the tremendous number of participants to this year’s Benchmark Study. The learning industry has spent 400 hours taking part in the UK’s largest learning technology benchmark, my thanks to all who participated. I encourage our industry to download this fascinated free detailed report on November the 10th to help raise the impact learning technologies are having on company performance.”

The Benchmark Study 2011 report will be available for free from November the  10th, thanks to Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors, 15 leading learning organisations. They work together as Ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practice, raising awareness and driving the whole learning industry forward.

The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE, Communications, LMMatters, Successfactors, REDTRAY and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Digital Publishing, Element K, Fusion-Universal, Information Transfer, learndirect and Toolwire. 

For more information on joining the Toward Maturity Ambassador Programme please visit http://www.towardsmaturity.org/static/towards-maturity-ambassador-programme/ or email nigel@towardsmaturity.org.

Notes to editors:

Statistics behind the findings:
 
Of the 600 organisations who participated:
57% private sector (40% multinational)
30% public sector
13% not—for-profit
 
The top learning technologies include:
Online surveys and questionnaires 76%
e-learning courses 89%
Virtual meetings 65%
Video content 49%
Virtual classroom 46%
Mobile technologies 39%
 
Towards Maturity will be presenting the preliminary results at the following events: Learning Live, GlobalEnglish’s GlobalExchanges event, L&D2020 and The Charity Learning Consortium annual conference

Toward Maturity’s not for profit benchmark practice provides independent expert advice and support in using learning innovation to accelerate business performance. Towards Maturity leverages the wealth of data provided by its Benchmark Study, an internationally recognised longitudinal study based on the inputs of 1,800 organisations and 3,000 learners over 8 years. Benchmark findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website.www.towardsmaturity.org

Press contacts:
Giovanna Puma
Toward Maturity
T: +44 (0) 7764 561 782
E: giovanna@towardsmaturity.org

 Going global: what makes a successful international learning implementation?

Register HERE

How do you ensure that your learning technologies deliver results when implementing  across different cultures and countries? This complex task demands more than technology and translation! Implementing learning technologies well also demands an understanding of how people learn, work and adapt to change.

In this webinar, sponsored by CERTPOINT Systems, Towards Maturity’s Managing Director Laura Overton organisations to provide practical ideas to increase adoption and improve impact. She will draw on Towards Maturity’s own benchmark research with over 400 multinational organisations and individual  as case studies to examine:

• Who influences success in global organisations
• What governance models are right for you 
• How to bring stakeholders on board when they are spread around the globe
• 6 implementation areas to improve take- up efficiency and business agility
• Tips for a great implementation, launch and roll-out

Laura will be joined by CERTPOINT’s general manager for EMEA, Maria van Vlodrop, who will examine some of the technical considerations in implementing global learning programmes. In doing so, Maria will draw on CERTPOINT’s successful track record with implementing learning platforms internationally to illustrate the critical criteria for success.

How to register

When? Friday 23rd September: 10am  / 6pm UK Time ( choose the time that suits you best!)

Register HERE.

CERTPOINT is one of Towards Maturity's 2011 Ambassadors who have helped to make the 2011 Towards Maturity Benchmark study possible.

Towards Maturity (good practice partner for the e-learning awards) would like to congratulate all the e-learning award winners.

In it's seventh year, there were a record number of entries from 17 countries so it was great to see that 25%  of the awards handed out went to Towards Maturity Ambassadors!

We were particularly thrilled to see Mike Booth from Cable & Wireless pick up  E-learning industry award for outstanding achievement.

I have known Mike for almost 10 years as he was one of the original contributors to our first benchmark report. Over that time his own organisation has undergone significant changes that would have daunted many learning professionals. But Mike embraced the challenge by consistently innovating, ensuring that learning was positioned to support business transformation rather than be left behind and he's always been willing to share lessons learned. You can follow some of his story here.

Celebrating Towards Maturity Ambassador Wins

Epic, Brightwave, Line and Information Transfer walked away with Gold awards and overall 25% of the awards handed out went to our ambassadors so well done!

Information Transfer walked away with the Gold win for Widespread Adoption for the 4th year running!

We've covered the stories of many of the past winners so do check them out if the ceremony has inspired you.

A list of the final winners!

Here is thelist of the winners (and the shortlisted organisations ( with links to stories of previous wins!):

Best use of social media for learning

• Gold - Deutsche Welle German Courses

Best use of synchronous e-learning

• Gold  - Brightwave

Best learning game, simulation or virtual environment

• Gold - Train4TradeSkills
• Silver - Parliament's Education Service and Preloaded
• Bronze - Caspian Learning/Interplay Energy

Best use of rapid e-learning content

• Gold- BT Learning and Development-SSV-eLearning and Multimedia
• Silver - Kineo and McDonalds UK
• Bronze - Unicorn Training Group

Best use of mobile learning

• Gold- Epic and Harper Collins
• Silver - LINE Communications and the Royal School of Artillery
• Bronze

Most innovative new learning hardware or software product

• Gold- Train4TradeSkills
• Silver - DH e-Learning for Healthcare: e-Fetal Monitoring (e-FM)
• Bronze - Fuse by Fusion Universal
• Bronze - Curatr by HT2

Best use of e-learning to ensure compliance with external regulations or internal policies

• Gold- CA Technologies
• Silver - RBS Group
• Bronze - Epic and the BBC

Best e-learning project securing widespread adoption

• Gold- Information Transfer and Cambian Group
• Silver - Kineo and BP

Best online distance learning project

• Gold - RM Lightbox Education / National College for School Leadership,
• Silver - Workplace Law Environmental

Excellence in the production of learning content - Not for Profit Sector

• Gold- LINE Communications and AO Foundation
• Silver - St Georges, University of London (check out previous awards)
• Bronze - League Football Education, Sportiv8 and Kineo,

Excellence in the production of learning content - Public Sector

• Gold- Epic and the BBC
• Silver - abcenglish, International Learning Centre and Wigan Council
• Bronze - NPIA/NCALT: Mental Ill Health and Learning Disability Awareness ( check out previous wins here)

Excellence in the production of learning content - Private Sector

• Gold - eCom Scotland in partnership with Howden
• Silver - Boots in partnership with Mind Click  ( Boots have been successful before - find out how)
• Silver - Compass Group and Kineo
• Bronze - essential.genius
• Bronze- Purple Media

E-learning internal project team of the year

• Gold- Crown Prosecution Service

E-learning industry award for outstanding achievement - corporate

• Gold- Sky in partnership with Brightwave
  

E-learning industry award for outstanding achievement - individual

• Gold - Mike Booth - Cable & Wireless

E-learning development company of the year

• Gold (International) - Michael Management Corporation
• Gold - Unicorn Training Group
• Silver - Walkgrove

Also shortlisted were abcenglish,GlobalEnglish Corporation,Learnosity, Kineo,, Open English, QA and Wavelength

Find out more about the awards here.

To date 1800 organisations have participated in the Towards Maturity Benchmark since it began and during June and July 2011 a record 600 organisations took part investing over 400 hours in the process.

Here is just some of the feedback we've had from the participants as they completed their 2011 review-

• Thank you for the great ideas I've gathered while filling up this survey.
• It was a good time for reflection. Good Work and we wish you success for this initiative, Thanks
• Keep up the good work. Detailed questions, but realistic approach. Thank you !
• Thanks -  looking forward to the results being shared, learning from this and using to promote within the organisation
• We thought the survey was really good and gave us the opportunity to reflect on things that we could use going forward.
• Great thought provoking questions, look forward to seeing the results!
• Can't wait to see the results - looking forward to being able to plan what and how we can improve.
• This has really helped focus on some areas and relationships we need to improve on if we are to successfully progress learning technologies.
• Once again a lengthy study, that I trust will prove interesting in terms of insights. This remains one of the best studies of the UK market and specifically e-Learning. I am still waiting for when learning through technology becomes the dominant modality. I await your report with great interest. Many thanks
• Great initiatives - industry benchmarks would be very useful
• Cant wait to see how bad we are!
• This has been a very interesting process to go through and has given me some ideas for the future however, as always, working in a charity sometimes really impacts on what can realistically be achieved
• Excellent survey - thank you very much indeed!
• Thank you - I've done this a couple of times now - and it keeps me sharp
• I'm exhausted :-)

We've also had constructive feedback on some of the questions and style which we will be acting on as we continually review the benchmark process.

Early results will be available in the middle of September and the  2011 report will be released on the 10th of November - find out more . 

Get involved in the conversation 

Benchmarking is a dynamic process - it's not just about research but it is about action . If this is something you are interested in, then please join our LinkedIn group New Learning Benchmarks - This group is for people wanting to fast track the results of innovative workplace learning & development through benchmarking. All of our previous and current benchmark reports will be posted plus latest news and comment.

A big thank you to our  Supporters and Ambassadors

This benchmarking process has been made freely available to you thanks to the support of our ambassadors who share our passion for ensuring that great independent research is freely available to all -we would like to encourage you to find out more about them!

Founding Ambassadors for the 2011 report:

• Brightwave
• Epic
• GlobalEnglish
• Line Communications
• LM Matters
• Plateau Systems
• Redtray
• The Charity Learning Consortiu

Ambassadors:

• CERTPOINT Systems
• digital publishing
• Element K
• Fusion-Universal
• Information Transfer
• Learndirect
• Toolwire

A big thank you also  to our supporters who have helped to raise awareness and keep the study independent.

IT'S NOT TO LATE TO BENCHMARK-You can still find out your personal benchmark

Click here to find out more

Or, if you are interested applying the benchmark findings in your own organisation, check out our Headstart Programme. 

It's not too late to get involved - we've extended the deadline now until 16th of August. If you are responsible for implementing learning technologies in your business the just click here.

Over 400 have already taken part this year, here are just some of the things they are sharing at the end of the process:

Everyone who completes this by the 16th of August will receive their personalised benchmark feedback and our new paper -  Time for Action - 101 tips for success (practical ideas from previous benchmark participants) during the week commencing 22nd August.

To find out more about TM Benchmarks, visit www.towardsmaturity.org/2011benchmark

If you are responsible for implementing learning technologies in your organisation take part HERE.
 
Over 400 organisations have already taken part and feedback on the study has been astounding. Over 73% of participants reporting that just taking part has given them new ideas to improve the impact of their learning services.

 
 
Early findings indicate that almost 60% of organisations are expecting to see the budget allocation for learning technologies increase in the next two years, 38% are now using mobile technology in learning and twice as many companies are using third party social media sites in learning compared to Towards Maturity 2010 research. In addition to providing an opportunity to review existing implementation practices, the study goes on to investigate how organisations are using new media in order to indentify emerging good practices.

 
 
Taking part in the benchmark is easy; it takes just 40 minutes to complete the review and it’s completely confidential. Everyone who completes their review by teh 16th of August will receive a free personalised online report with their Towards Maturity Index, a figure that represents the scale of good practise used in their organisation by the end of the month.

 
 
In addition, participants will also receive a high level report detailing key performance indicators and recommendations for further actions, as well as a new Time for Action – 101 tips for success white paper containing practical advice gathered from previous benchmark participants.

 
 
Over the eight years of benchmarking, 1500 organisations and 3000 learners across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors have benefited from taking part in Toward Maturity’s popular free benchmark.

 
 
Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity said, “This study isn’t just a piece of research it’s an opportunity to improve performance, I encourage as any organisation who is interested in indentifying and sharing effective implementation practices to take advantage of the benchmark extension and get involved.”   

 
 
Overton concludes, “The study feedback from participants so far has been great - one blue chip company told us - Thank you, I've done this a couple of times now - and it keeps me sharp.’

The free research, worth £600 is available for free thanks to  Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors, 15 leading learning organisations. They work together as Ambassadors for change, identifying and improving good practice, raising awareness and driving the whole learning industry forward.

The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme includes the following founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE, Communications, LMMatters, Plateau Systems, Redtray and The Charity Learning Consortium, plus CERTPOINT Systems, Digital Publishing, Element K, Fusion-Universal, Information Transfer, learndirect and Toolwire.  

 
 
For more information on joining the Toward Maturity Ambassador Programme please visit http://www.towardsmaturity.org/static/towards-maturity-ambassador-programme/ or email nigel@towardsmaturit​y.org.

About Towards Maturity

Toward Maturity’s not for profit benchmark practice provides independent expert advice and support in using learning innovation to accelerate business performance. Towards Maturity leverages the wealth of data provided b3y its benchmark, an internationally recognised longitudinal study based on the inputs of 1,200 organisations and 3,000 learners over 8 years. Benchmark findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website.www.towardsmaturity.org

Press contacts:
Giovanna Puma
 
Toward Maturity

T: +44 (0) 7764 561 782
E: giovanna@towardsmaturity.org

Keynote speakers Charles Jennings, Managing Director, Duntroon Associates (one of our longstanding supporters) and Laura Overton, Managing Director, Towards Maturity will be addressing this issue in their talks:

• Transforming L&D through effective learning governance (Charles on 27th)
• Adapting to change and influencing success – five new conversations for L&D (Laura on 28th)

2 - How to get results and change behaviour

Svetlana Omeltchenko, Global Marketing Development Manager,  will be speaking on her experiences at British American Tobacco (and you can read her case study here)

3 How to get the best from mobile and social learning

• Tim Drewitt, e-Learning Specialist, Eversheds LLP (TM case study coming soon!)  and TM ambassador Piers Lea, CEO, LINE Communications Group look at how mobile learning can be used effectively.
• Niall Gavin, Group IT Training Manager, FirstGroup and TM supporters Clive Shepherd, Director, Onlignment Jane Hart, Founder, Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies are exploring  how formal learning, informal learning can be integrated and the potential of social learning

4 How to overcoming barriers to change:

• Debbie Carter, Director of Research, TJ is contributing to a panel on overcoming barriers to change.
• Karen Velasco, Chairman, British Institute for Learning & Development(a TM supporter) and Martin Baker, Managing Director from TM ambassador  LMMatters will be discussing how L&D can deliver with reduced time and budgets.

5 Making connections

You can also meet 8 of Tm ambassadors and supporters who share our philosophy of valueing independant research in the WOL exhibition:

Ambassadors:

• Charity Learning Consortium
• Information Transfer
• Line Communications
• LM Matters

Supporters:

• elearning network
• British Institute of Learning and Development
• Training Journal
• Training Zone

6 Even greater discounts for ALL TM Benchmark Centre users

WOL are supporters of the TM benchmark and have just extended their current  discount offer to our those who are currently enrolled and active in our new Benchmark Centre. That means those booking onto the event before the 26th of August receive a further 10% discount that can be used that can be used in conjunction with the early booking discount (20% before 26 August). Active benchmark centre users will have receive their own code from us directly to take advantage of this offer.

NB If you have recently completed your 2011 benchmark and are waiting for your personalised report, do contact us about this offer as you are eligible for the discount as well!

We look forward to seeing you there!

14-Jun-2011 A ground-breaking study by Towards Maturity, into the effectiveness of technology-led leadership and management development, reveals that learning technology is bringing executive development out of the classroom and firmly into the workplace. Martin Baker, CEO of LMMatters, says the research - the results of which are revealed today - confirms that online, on-demand learning is enabling busy executives to access knowledge immediately, effectively and seamlessly, when and where they need it.

Unique independent  research - supported by LMMatters, the UK partner to Harvard Business Publishing and founding ambassador of Towards Maturity - has found that learning technologies are bringing leadership and management development out of the classroom and into the workplace.

The ground-breaking study, by the highly respected independent benchmarking organisation Towards Maturity, investigated the use of technology-led learning for leadership and management development, and its impact on business performance.

Revealing the results at LMMatters annual leadership seminar on 15 June, London, Laura Overton, MD of Towards Maturity explained: "It is clear that the choice for learners is no longer simply between classroom and self study."

"Equally, the 'blend' is no longer just about the 'eLearning sandwich' where participants are required to take a prerequisite eLearning course prior to attending the classroom, and then revisiting the eLearning for refresher training."

Learning technology now supports a third of all coaching, action learning programmes and workshops, she says, and two thirds of programmes include online resources, such as check lists and job aids, to support the application of skills back in the workplace.

In general conversation, many managers and providers still say they prefer face-to-face and more 'traditional' methods of delivering leadership and management learning. Yet the study highlights that, when exposed to new media, the preference for pure classroom training diminishes.

Contrary to expectations, when asked to identify managers' top three media for learning delivery, survey participants did not include 'the classroom' .Many participants said that managers preferred solutions that either delivered on-demand learning at the point of need - through the provision of timely information - or immediate access to a community which could provide them with support.

Martin Baker, CEO of LMMatters, points out that: "Learning online can be such an integral part of 'doing' that managers who learn to solve challenges in this way may not consider this traditional 'training' at all."

"Anecdotal evidence tells us that this approach works. But surprisingly, before this study there has been little or no research into the effectiveness of online leadership and management development - despite the fact that [according to previous research by Towards Maturity] 50% of all leadership and management programmes are now e-enabled."

"It is undoubtedly learning technologies that are enabling leaders and managers to access knowledge immediately, effectively and seamlessly, where and when they need it."

The research also clearly points to an expected increase in the use of eLearning, the breadth of media used and the proportion of training budget to be allocated to learning technologies in the near future. The study also shows that increasing the proportion of innovative approaches, new media and user-generated content preferred by future leaders, is expected to lower costs for IT infrastructure and software.

The executive summary of the report Reinventing Leadership Development can be downloaded below

Some more highlights of the research follow:

Facts and figures - survey results

Participants from more than 180 organisations (in the private, public and not for profit sectors) providing development opportunities for more than 35,000 leaders and managers, took part in the survey. More than 80% face the challenge of supporting those leaders and managers across multiple locations (around a third in multinational locations). In these circumstances, technology enabled resources are proving increasingly popular.

More budget for technology-led leadership and management development

•3 out of 10 organisations have seen their budget for leadership and management development increase over the last two years (only 1 in 4 saw a decrease).
•3 out of 10 anticipate further increases in overall leadership and management development budget over the next two years (3 in 10 also expect a decrease).
•27% of the leadership and management development budget is spent on learning technologies.
•6 out of 10 organisations anticipate that the proportion allocated to learning technologies will also continue to increase (only 1 in 10 expects a decrease).

Why are organisations using learning technologies?

80% of participants are introducing learning technologies into the mix in order to:

•Improve efficiency (saving time and cost).
•Improve productivity (through sharing of good practice between managers, reducing time to competency and ensuring faster application of learning back in the workplace).
•Increase agility (in terms of increasing speed of engagement and responding to changing business needs).

What results are organisations getting from using learning technologies for leadership and management development?

•Four out of five report that they are reducing cost, increasing the speed of engagement with learning and reducing time spent away from the business.
•Two thirds believe that technology is helping to deliver a more consistent and faster application of learning back into the workplace, and is reducing time to competency.
•Three out of five organisations which are trying to improve sharing of good practice amongst managers report that this is happening.

Conservative quantifiable benefits reported include:

•16% cost savings
•15% overall reduction in study time
•8% increase in qualifications or certifications
•8% improvement in their current measures of learner satisfaction/engagement
•9% improvement in extending the reach of learning

The top tools used in technology-led leadership & management development include:

•71% use video conferencing/virtual presence
•70% use Learning management systems
•63% use other online resources such as eBooks and eJournals
•63% use diagnostic tools

Whilst growth is expected in all media, the biggest increases are expected in the following areas:

•55% expect growth in virtual classrooms
•48% expect growth in podcasting
•43% expect growth in video conferencing
•43% expect growth in in-house social media
•43% expect growth in mobile devices to deliver content
•42% expect growth in custom eLearning and video content of best practice within organisations

Organisations are invited to join Towards Maturity’s 5th Learning Benchmark Study to help them improve take-up, efficiency and business performance through learning innovation.

LONDON, June 6 2011: The 2011 Towards Maturity Benchmark Study was launched today, once again with outstanding support from the wider Learning & Development industry. Organisations from the private, public and not for profit sectors looking to improve performance through learning innovation are invited to take part during June and July at www.towardsmaturity.org/2011benchmark. Participation is free of charge.

In a time when economic uncertainty is putting pressure on budgets and time, organisations are increasingly relying upon technology to help improve learning results, efficiency and business performance. However Towards Maturity’s benchmark research over the last eight years clearly shows some are more successful than others in achieving this.

Uniquely among research-based organisations in this space, Towards Maturity leverages the wealth of data provided by its ongoing Benchmark Study – an internationally recognised, vendor neutral, longitudinal review based on the input of over 1200 organisations and 3000 learners since 2003. The study has identified six work streams of implementation activity that support performance improvement and these power an authoritative standard of measurement, the Towards Maturity Index.

The Towards Maturity 2011 Benchmark Study now provides three simple steps to help organisations use those findings to improve their own results. Organisations are invited first to confidentially review their current implementation processes and plans, then to compare their results and actions with top performers to identify strengths and weaknesses, and finally to act on the findings to improve performance.

Individuals responsible for implementing learning technologies in their organisation are invited to take part at www.towardsmaturity.org/2011benchmark.

Peter Butler, Learning director at Lloyds Banking Group says ‘The stark reality is this – if learning professionals aspire to be world class, to add core value and improve business performance, we have to be willing to constantly improve, I believe that benchmarking is an essential business tool required to achieve this and one that is not used often enough in learning. The Towards Maturity Benchmark Study opens up an opportunity to benchmark for all’.

The Benchmark Study process requires an investment of approximately 40 minutes of time. But this is time well spent as over 70% of organisations who completed the review step alone in 2010 found new ideas to help drive their strategy forward.

‘The Towards Maturity Benchmark Study isn’t just an industry survey, it is a performance improvement tool ‘ says Laura Overton, MD of Towards Maturity.’ Our benchmark supporters and ambassadors help us to ensure that the benchmark itself constantly evolves to reflect the changing industry. Every participant will receive their own Towards Maturity Index within a few weeks of completing to help them monitor ongoing improvements against evolving good practice.’

All participants who take part in this free, confidential benchmark service during June and July will receive a personalised online report providing them with their Towards Maturity Index as a baseline for benchmarking and improvement, feedback on key performance indicators and recommendations for further actions. They will also receive a new white paper: Time for Action – 101 tips for success containing practical advice gathered from previous benchmark participants.

The consolidated industry report following the Towards Maturity 2011 Benchmark Study will be launched in November and will be available to download free of charge thanks to the ongoing support of the Towards Maturity Ambassadors.

Last year’s report from the Towards Maturity 2010 Benchmark Study can be also be downloaded at www.towardsmaturity.org/2010benchmark.

Notes to Editors

About Towards Maturity

Toward Maturity’s not for profit benchmark practice provides independent expert advice and support in using learning innovation to accelerate business performance. Towards Maturity leverages the wealth of data provided by its benchmark, an internationally recognised longitudinal study based on the inputs of 1,200 organisations and 3,000 learners over 8 years . Benchmark findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website.www.towardsmaturity.or

•    The Towards Maturity Benchmark Centre helping organisations apply Towards Maturity Benchmark research back in the workplace.
•    Download the 2010 Towards Maturity Benchmark

•    The Towards Maturity Index

•    Follow Towards Maturity on Twitter

The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme

Effective implementation practices are constantly evolving. To keep up to date, the 2011 Towards Maturity Benchmark Study is being supported by industry Ambassadors who share a passion for ensuring that independent advice is freely available to all. he Ambassador Programme was launched in November 2010:
Founding Ambassadors:
o    Brightwave
o    Epic
o    GlobalEnglish
o    LINE Communications
o    LMMatters
o    Plateau Systems
o    Redtray
o    The Charity Learning Consortium
Ambassadors:
o    CERTPOINT Systems
o    Digital Publishing
o    Element K
o    Fusion-Universal
o    Information Transfer
o    learndirect
o    Toolwire

The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme

Towartry Supporters Maturity

Towards Maturity also works with a number of vendor neutral supporting organisations to ensure that the benchmark continues to reflects current and independent thinking. Industry supporters include The British Institute of Learning and Development, Business in the Community, The  Centre for Learning Performance Technologies, Duntroon Associates, E-Learning Age, Elearnity, ELIG - the European Learning Industry Group, elearning network, IITT - Institute of IT Training, Informatology, Learning and Skills Group, Learning Technologies, Nigel Paine, Onlignment, Online Educa Berlin, Training Journal, TrainingZone and World of Learning. www.towardsmaturity.org/supporters

Press contact:
Giovanna Puma
email: giovanna@towardsmaturity.org

learndirect partners with Towards Maturity to encourage effective e-learning  practices

Towards Maturity’s Ambassador Programme grows to 15 strong

LONDON, June 2 2011: learndirect has today joined the Ambassador Programme of Towards Maturity, a leading European benchmark practice to promote independent research to encourage effective practices in e-learning.

Towards Maturity Ambassadors are industry thought leaders who support the Towards Maturity Benchmark Study in order to ensure that independent research is freely available to all. The Benchmark Study has gathered valuable data from Learning & Development practitioners since 2003.  Over 1200 organisations and 3000 learners have contributed to the development of the Towards Maturity Index that monitors good practices on an annual basis.

“At learndirect we know from our experience of working with a range of employers that the use of online learning portals and flexible online learning assets are really effective in helping to upskill staff.  However, these benefits are not always well understood which is why we see varying levels of uptake and implementation.  We’re really excited to be supporting the Towards Maturity Benchmarking Study as we believe it will help to pinpoint and respond to the e-learning deployment challenges facing employers,” comments Kirstie Donnelly, Director Service Design and Development
from learndirect.

The international recognised Benchmark Study provides all participating organisations with individual feedback on key performance indicators such as efficiency and time to competency. It also recommends further actions to improve the effectiveness of e-learning technologies in the organisation.  In 2010 70 percent of organisations that completed the study found new ideas to help improve e-learning implementations. 

learndirect join fourteen other leading UK learning specialist companies including founding ambassadors Brightwave, Epic, GlobalEnglish, LINE Communications, LMMatters, Plateau Systems, Redtray and The Charity Learning Consortium.

“I’m delighted that learndirect have joined our Ambassador Programme - they have helped more than 3 million learners transform their lives and 6,000 employers improve performance. As an organisation they share our commitment to finding the best ways to embed technology within learning to address the UK’s skills gaps – it’s great to have them on board,” said Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity.

To join Toward Maturity Ambassador Programme please contact nigel@towardsmaturity.org.

The new 2011 Benchmark Study will be launched on June 6. Those responsible for implementing learning technologies in private, public and not for profit organisations are invited to take part to receive your personalised report  and free Time for Action paper. For further information on how to participate, please visit www.towardsmaturity.org/2011benchmark before the end of July 2011. 

Notes to Editors

About Towards Maturity

Toward Maturity’s not for profit benchmark practice provides independent expert advice and support in using learning innovation to accelerate business performance. Towards Maturity leverages the wealth of data provided by its benchmark, an internationally recognised longitudinal study based on the inputs of 1,200 organisations and 3,000 learners over 8 years. Benchmark findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website.
http://www.towardsmaturity.org/
The Towards Maturity Benchmark Centre <http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org>
2010 Towards Maturity Benchmark <http://www.towardsmaturity.org/2010benchmark>
Follow Towards Maturity on Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/towardsmaturity>

The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme

Effective implementation practices are constantly evolving. To keep up to date, 2011 Towards Maturity Benchmark Research is being supported by industry Ambassadors who share a passion for ensuring that independent advice is freely available to all.
The Ambassador Programme was launched in November 2010:
Founding Ambassadors:
o Brightwave
o Epic
o GlobalEnglish
o LINE Communications
o LMMatters
o Plateau Systems
o Redtray
o The Charity Learning Consortium

Ambassadors:
o CERTPOINT Systems
o Digital Publishing
o Element K
o Fusion-Universal
o Information Transfer
o learndirect
o Toolwire
The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme  - http://www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

 For more information on learndirect please visit ufi.com or @ufi_learndirect

Press contact:
Giovanna Puma
email: giovanna@towardsmaturity.org

Laura  believes L&D has been slow to utilise technological advances in society at large, and that it has been guilty of being transactional rather than transformational.

'In the last 10 years we've seen the advent of Facebook and Twitter, and just almost everybody knows how to Google something or how to purchase something online," said Laura,"but what we’ve been doing in Learning and Development to date, I believe, has been more about automating what we used to do'

"I think one of the key questions that we need to ask ourselves in the future is 'How can we actually facilitate that fast exchange of knowledge and information in new ways and with new models?", citing BT's Dare to Share social media skill sharing initiative as an example of innovative thinking in action.

Allied to this, Laura urges learning professionals not to get hung up on jargon but instead focus on business goals: "How can I really make a difference to the business that I’m supporting?, not 'How can I deliver a course?' or 'How can I deliver a piece of e-learning?' but 'How can I bring change about in this organisation given all the knowledge that I have, given all the methods that I know about good learning and performance, giving all the new media that I have available in my hand?'"

With regard to L&D's evolution over the next decade, Laura considers attitude just as important as technology in delivering the workforce of tomorrow: "There has to be an innovation of mindset, moving from the course to delivering performance in the organisation, and being completely unconstrained by the past and looking to the future. I think that’s going to be the real innovation that will make the difference."

Brightwave's 'What a difference' videos are a series of interviews with leading figures from Learning and Development. They aim to share success stories and lessons learned from the last 10 years as well as explore how learning technologies can support fast-changing business practices in the next decade. Other interviewees include Donald H Taylor (Chair, Institute of IT Training) and Kenny Henderson (Head of Talent Development Operations, Sky), with more planned in the future.

Brigtwave is one of Towards Maturity's founding Ambassadors, you can view the full series of interviews: http://www.brightwave.co.uk/what-a-difference/video.

For those who couldn't make it to Rome, here are some of the my takeaways from his session:

Breaking down talent Management Silos

Talent Management brings together 5 different talent areas - employee performance management (EPM- consisting of performance management, succession planning, compensation management) plus recruitment and learning. Despite the clear relationships between the functions most of the time, HR operate these areas under separate silos which are of very little interest outside of the department. At best, this operating structure makes very little sense to those who are actually working out in the business and at worse causes considerable frustration and data cul de sacs , particularly when staff are faced with multiple platforms and processes. Otter challenged the group to reduce this silo mentality within HR, if only for the sake of the end user!

Platform strategy -  Time to integrate

Organisations looking to progress their core talent management strategies are increasingly looking to integrate the process and this presents a number of challenges as many are at different stages of their journey. There are some organisations considering how to shift from paper or excel based systems whilst others, who have been using technology to support performance management, recruitment or learning, are now asking questions about how to bring the systems together.

Vendors in this area offer full talent management suites and there is increasing adoption of these systems. However, despite the range modules available from talent management vendors, less than 4% use the full range of modules available. The majority (86%) use 2 modules of the 5 talent management areas from a single vendor. (Data from the 2011 Magic Quadrant for Employee Performance Management Software Customer Reference Survey).

Whilst it it important to consider platform strategies and how you are going to bring data together, Otter's key challenge however is that integration is only valuable when the areas being integrated are both ADDING value.

Otter recommended that organisations find 2 -3 vendors (1 in HR and 2 in talent management). He suggested that success comes when you commit to vendors and have them commit to you so that you can work together to think about issues such as platform not just functionality and reducing interfacing costs.
 
Talent management success - Getting closer to the user

To add real business value, it is critical to get closer to the end user. Political issues, for example working with work councils or unions, need to be considered but his strongest recommendation was to involve end users and line managers to find out 'How can I help you make your job easier?'. When it comes to integrated talent management, simplicity, ease of use and value back to employer are crucial to ongoing success .

Time to trust the Cloud/SaaS

Unified learning and performance solutions are driving a performance driven culture but 'on premise' systems are proving costly to maintain and update so the trend is to move towards software as a service (Saas). Yes there are concerns about outside parties being trusted with precious HR assets and information. Otter argued that the specialists need to be trusted, after all, you don't keep your money under bed, and you give it to bank. Talent management vendors know how to keep data more secure than many organisations -  they have more to lose if things go wrong. When it comes down to it,  who is more, likely to go digging into data? A disgruntled employee or a bored vendor? Who has most to lose if data gets out vendor who loses business and clients or an organisation who will be embarrassed at the leak?

E-learning Renaissance

E-Learning has been through the hype and disillusion phase and is now in plateau of productivity but moving forward it has to include self created content. When something labelled dead it is normally quite alive. Otter believes that the Lms is not dead , it's just had a slight cold over last few years! LMS platforms still have future, especially when start to include social and mobile technologies.

Stop arguing about social software in talent management, embrace it!

Otter argues that most hr departments not pushing social software either with vendor or with themselves. He says that HR need to articulate their own social strategy and when they do so, will have an excellent opportunity to influence change. Currently the marketing function is driving the use of social media and whilst social media is in its infancy in HR and talent, there is no reason why HR can't start to contribute and even drive strategy.

He recommends that on boarding/induction is a great area for trialling social learning projects- new staff coming in are familiar with new media so no change management is needed and technology can be used to connect new hires with each other, with managers, with administration functions before they start. 

Getting number savvy -measurement lessons from Marketing

Marketing modern marketing crunch numbers for everything , they are able to conduct amazing analysis and are able to comment on brand, success of campaigns and much more, as a result they are securing budgets. HR have the same opportunities but are less comfortable with crunching the numbers. The marketing department have business case numbers for everything and they are able to do this without impacting their creativity.

HR have access to a tremendous amount of data from the various platforms that we operate but we don't do a good job in putting it together and delivering it. Otter's challenge to HR  professionals is to ensure that their board values the data from HR as much as other departments to help them making decisions. A specific challenge is the way that volunteered information is embraced. For example, we see a strong use of social media in recruitment and also the growing importance of volunteered information from staff via sites like LinkedIn. If volunteered information continues to expand, the challenge for HR is to understand how it can be included in organisational systems so that it is available for analysis to support decision making.

Otter shared 2 practical examples of where HR and L&D can easily embrace the numbers to show the value of technology - one is in recruitment (sources of new staff, recruitment costs before and after are readily available). The other is induction - where costs and reduced time to competency can all be measured.

(Read more on HR numeracy on TO's blog 28th March - see below)

Take the current when it serves or lose your ventures!

With opportunity and change abounding, Otter completed the challenge to his audience with an appropriate Shakespeare quote from Julius Cesar:

There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.

Further information:

Follow Thomas Otter on Twitter @vendorprisey

Blog: http://theotherthomasotter.wordpress.com/

Magic quadrant for employee performance Management March 2011 -

Targeting the issues for business

In business, senior managers don’t want learning, they want results. OEB introduced Business EDUCA in 2010 to focus on achieving organisational results through collaborative intelligence and learning.

Business EDUCA will provides the opportunity to explore, discuss, debate and apply the conference themes to the latest issues facing organisations today.

Come and Shape Business EDUCA in 2011

Business organisations in Europe are being invited to help shape Business EDUCA to ensure that the event is all about getting things done in organisations. It’s not academic. It will draw from practice, innovation and research and focuses on outputs in the workplace, rather than learning inputs.

You can shape Business Educa in 2 ways:

• Contribute your own experiences - the Call for Papers for the event are now open - if you have experience to share from your own organisation that will be valuable for others then please consider sharing those directly at the conference. Deadline for receipt of all proposals is June 1st, 2011.
• Take part in a short  independent benchmark to understand the challenges and opportunities facing european organisations who are implementing learning technologies within their workplaces. It has been designed for those who are interested in benchmarking their activities with others to support ongoing activity and planning. The study's findings will be freely available to all participants in July and will also inform the practical themes to be explored in more detail at Business Educa in December.

Take part in the European benchmark here.

Towards Maturity will be supporting Business Educa and sharing some of the key findings and case studies with our readers. Do get involved and we look forward to seeing you there.

UK business missing out on efficiency gains say heads of learning

LONDON, 19 April 2011: As cuts-ridden Britain emerges from recession it is missing out on a potential source of significant cost savings and efficiency gains, say heads of UK learning companies, because of outdated attitudes to training among top management.
The Ready to Grow report from the CBI last year, highlighted that almost two thirds (63%) of firms see investment in skills as very important for achieving their strategic objectives, the same number  however say that they will be targeting their training more effectively as resources remain tight during the early stages of economic recovery.

Why then, at a time when people development is widely seen a more critical than ever to the success of British industry, do Business Leaders often overlook an area of innovation that has been proven to yield excellent results when effectively harnessed? The view was expressed in response to Towards Maturity research findings from its 2010-11 Benchmark Survey. Conservative estimates show that compared with traditional or ‘classroom’ training, a mature use of innovative and technology-enabled learning is delivering:

• 18% cost savings
• 22% reduction in study time
• 2x volume of learning delivered

Results achieved also improve dramatically with greater maturity of use.
This consensus viewpoint emerged at the inaugural meeting of the Towards Maturity Ambassadors Group, which comprises many of the leading provider companies in the technology-supported and innovative learning industry. Attendees to the meeting included some of the most prominent entrepreneurs and CEOs in the industry, including Piers Lea of LINE Communications, winner of the E-learning Award for Lifetime Achievement, Jonathan Satchell CEO of Epic, and Martin Baker MD Charity Learning consortium. A full list of Towards Maturity Ambassadors is given below.

The group called for specific industry-wide action to spread awareness among business leaders of the hidden potential that lurks within its L&D armoury.

Piers Lea, CEO of Line Communications said:  ‘For the first time, we have objective, empirical industry research that shows a mature use of technology in learning can significantly influence business agility and efficiency. Business leaders need to challenge their staff to look beyond past experience and to ensure that they are equipped to make the most of new learning opportunities’.

Martin Baker , MD of the Charity Learning Consortium said ‘Of course, in the not-for-profit sector, value for money is just as  critical. Leaders in the sector are under just as much pressure to ensure their staff deliver high levels of services and this means delivering the right skills at the right time in an affordable way. In practical terms, many charities, particularly in health care, have staff that are on the move – they may not even have a desk  . This evidence highlights that eLearning really is a practical and effective solution, but leaders in the sector have to support the change for technology to deliver.’

Towards Maturity’s Ambassador programme has been a resounding success since its launch at the end of 2010, showing a widespread willingness among the provider community to give practical support for the not-for-profit benchmarking practice’s work in highlighting the role of learning innovation in the workplace. Two new award winning Ambassadors were also welcomed at the meeting: Information Transfer, based in Cambridge and Digital Publishing from Germany.

Armin Hopp, founder and president of Digital Publishing said ‘Business and Learning leaders across Europe need to be able to benchmark to help drive innovation and change. We are thrilled to be part of the Towards Maturity Ambassador Group to support this important independent research.’

Notes to Editors

About Towards Maturity
Toward Maturity’s not for profit benchmark practice provides independent expert advice and support in using learning innovation to accelerate business performance. Towards Maturity leverages the wealth of data provided by its benchmark, an internationally recognised longitudinal study based on the inputs of 1,200 organisations and 3,000 learners over 8 years. Benchmark findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website.
http://www.towardsmaturity.org/
The Towards Maturity Benchmark Centre <http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org>
2010 Towards Maturity Benchmark <http://www.towardsmaturity.org/2010benchmark>
Follow Towards Maturity on Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/towardsmaturity>

The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme
Effective implementation practices are constantly evolving. To keep up to date, 2011 Towards Maturity Benchmark Research is being supported by industry Ambassadors who share a passion for ensuring that independent advice is freely available to all.
The Ambassador Programme was launched in November 2010:
Founding Ambassadors:
o Brightwave
o Epic
o GlobalEnglish
o LINE Communications
o LMMatters
o Plateau Systems
o Redtray
o The Charity Learning Consortium
Ambassadors:
o CERTPOINT Systems
o Digital Publishing
o Element K
o Fusion-Universal
o Information Transfer
o Toolwire
The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme  - http://www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

Leadership Development Benchmark closes 20th May and final report will be available to download free here on the 15th of June.

The full results will also be presented at the LM Matters annual forum on the 15th of June.

 Reinventing Leadership development in 2011

PRESS RELEASE 13th April 2011 - A research project launched today will consider how innovative learning approaches are impacting leadership development. The research, conducted by the independent Benchmarking practice, Towards Maturity  aims to uncover what learning approaches are making a difference in developing great leaders and managers.

Take part here.

Nurturing great leadership skills is critical to the success of all organisations. In a bid to save both time and money, innovative online leadership and management development programmes have become increasingly popular - but how effective are they?

If you are responsible for  leadership and management development within your organisation, we encourage you to participate in an independent industry benchmark study from Towards Maturity, designed to uncover good practice that delivers results. The results will be freely available to all participants and will be released on the 15 June.

The Ready to Grow  report from the CBI last year highlights the priorities facing business in this area. More firms in 2010 (48%) than 2009 (39%) say improving leadership and management skills is essential for future success, and this is even higher for the public sector (73%). The same report also highlights that over two thirds of organisations are looking for more targeted and cost effective routes for training.

The Institute of Director’s Skills Crunch Report at the end of last year also highlights that leadership and management skills are at the top of the list for those organisations which are reporting skills gaps in their current staff.

As a result, leadership and management training continues to be a high priority and, increasingly, organisations are considering more cost effective learning technologies as part of their learning & development approach. In fact, according to the latest Towards Maturity benchmark, 50% of all leadership and management programmes are now e-enabled, compared to just 34% in 2008. But how are they being used and under what circumstances are they effective?

Laura Overton, MD of Towards Maturity commented: “Our research has shown that when top leaders use learning technologies in their own development, the overall impact and business benefit of investment in learning technologies is increased, so we are particularly pleased to be able to conduct this study.

“We are aiming to understand how organisations can improve their use of learning technologies in leadership development programmes, to encourage great experiences for participants - even at the highest levels of organisations.”

The independent study is being supported by of LMMatters, the UK partner to Harvard Business Publishing, and a founding Ambassador of the  Towards Maturity 2011 Benchmark.. Martin Baker, Managing Director  of LM Matters commented: “We are proud to be backing this independent research project and would encourage anyone using online leadership and management resources to participate. Nurturing leadership skills is a priority for all forward thinking organisations, and effective delivery is critical at a time when resources are stretched.”

How  to take part

Participants can take part online via the following link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TMLeadership

The survey will take about 15-20 minutes. Individual responses will be kept completely confidential, unless agreed otherwise.

All participants will receive a free copy of the final report which will be published on 15 June 2011 and complementary resources from Harvard Business Publishing.

A full discussion of the findings will also be published in the July/August edition of eLearrning Age magazine as part of Towards Maturty's good practice partnership with the magazine and eLearning awards.

• providing faster and more efficient learning programmes;
• reducing bureaucracy;
• simplifying the jobs of assessors enabling them to focus more on feedback and assessment rather than managing huge volumes of evidence;
• increasing the retention of learners in a learning programme;
• increasing the ownership of learners in  their assessment programme;
• providing more transparency for funding organisations; and
• increasing the transparency of Quality Assurance for work-based assessment.
  

These are the findings of City and Guilds following the implementation of Learning Assistant to support work-based assessment of some of their key programmes.  Learners using e-portfolios to assemble competency based evidence complete their qualifications 40% faster than those with paper based portfolios. Assessors say they are better able to manage their workloads.  Our own research also reports that the use of Learning Technology significantly reduces time to competency by 28% for the most e-learning mature organisations; additionally a case study on work-based assessment demonstrates speed to competency achieved in half the time. (click here for podcast and here for case study article). 

However computer driven assessments themselves are having difficulty getting beyond multiple choice questions.

These were the main points to come out of a meeting of the British Institute of Learning and Development at City and Guilds head office in London on the 31st March.

The City and Guilds has been around for a long time being established in 1878 by the City of London and various craft Guilds. Throughout that time they have both remained up to date and maintained quality standards of assessment.

Andrew Boyle, Head of Assessment Research, presented a personal view of e-assessment. There is much still to be done as paper driven systems still dominate assessment procedures; whether work based or not. Isabel Nesbit the outgoing CEO of Ofqual (Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator) is quoted as saying of computer driven assessment; "Let's get this off the too difficult pile".

Simulation, mobile media, virtual reality, 2nd Life, augmented reality, social networking, collaborative tools all give us the opportunity to get beyond multiple choice questions in assessment.

City and Guilds themselves have been using computer driven tests since October 2002 since they launched Global On-line Assessment GOLA. Initially usage was approximately 200,000 tests per annum and this has risen to 1 million per annum.  The overall UK market for e-assessment is around £250 million per annum so this is clearly a serious business. One of the most frequently used on-line tests is the Driving Test Theory Test.

However e-assessment is not yet doing enough; Generation Y (Those entering work now) are used to sophisticated, web-based interactive displays and communication.  Again quoting Isabel Nesbit; "Computerised exams should replace pen and paper test for a generation used to digital learning." The strain of writing for three hours is a novel and tiring experience for Generation Y; although previous generations might also agree.

However many practioners in the field are uncertain about the future of technology in assessment. City&Guilds are experimenting with revolving cameras on PCs to act as invigilators and automatic recognition of candidates to alleviate some of these concerns although this does not take us beyond MCQs. Currently only a few topics are examined by computer based exams.  Some of these totally replace paper based assessment and others are a combination; blended assessment.  Achieving a close link between work performance and exam performance remains elusive for many.

The picture is much more positive for work-based competency assessment where the e-portfolio is proving a valuable tool. Andrew Stone, the Assessment Practice Manager gave the audience a very clear and entertaining presentation of how Learning Advisor works.

Competency based qualifications have a structure broken down into Units with Performance Criteria and Knowledge Statements. The traditional approach for work-based assessment is that candidates assemble a paper portfolio of evidence; witness statements, project work, comments from customers or line managers, perhaps photographs of completed jobs. Each piece of paper will refer to the Unit of competence and the Performance Criteria or Knowledge Statement. Of course one piece of evidence may refer to more than one item of assessment. Learning Adviser brings all this together in one electronic package.

The e-portfolio is a collection of evidence in electronic form suitable tagged and commented.  Evidence can include video, images, audio, emails, witness statements, spreadsheets, presentations, other documents, http links including links to Wikki sites (which may themselves be examples of collaborative exercise and therefore used by several students). Potentially the output from simulation and virtual reality scenarios could be included.

Andrew demonstrated how this might be used in the hypothetical Level 3 qualification in Corporate Skills.  This includes a Unit with the title “Attending and contributing to conferences and seminars”. This included Performance Statements: turn up on time; nod and smile at other participants, remain awake, contribute to discussion etc.  Photographs and videos of participants were added to a mythical student’s portfolio to demonstrate each of these performances.  The evidence was added to the performance statement in the system. The evidence is viewed by an assessor who can pass or fail the evidence and add comments.  An external verifier is then able to access the same record and comment on the judgements made by the assessor.

An advantage of the e-portfolio in this format is that both students and assessors can very easily get an over view of progress as each Unit can be displayed on one page with Assessor comments. At a glance it is easy to see if that Unit has sufficient evidence collected.

Learners can download their e-portfolios making it easier for them to keep a record of their progress and eventual completion.  Students like this approach as it is easier for them to collect evidence with every mobile phone being a video and audio recording device; e-portfolios don’t get lost, are simple to store and easy to save a copy.

Mobile technology also simplifies the process enabling not only evidence gathering on the spot but immediate transmission to the tutor and assessor. This strengthens the links between tutor and a remote work-based learner, a point made by a pilot study into the use of mobile technologies(PDAs) to help work-based assessment in the Health and Care sector starting as early as 2006.  The Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning  led a project on  Assessment and Learning in Practice Settings  with the aim of simplifying the collection of evidence for Health and Care students when working in hospitals, clinics and care homes.  Students felt far more supported by their University Tutor with mobile technology than they did without. 

The conclusion from the conference is that the e-portfolio is a success, both from a commercial and learning aspect, but that e-testing still needs more development work to get beyond the multiple choice question. 

31st March 2011 London: Two leading players in the e-learning community have extended their co-operation in a bid to bring more benefits to users and providers of technology-based learning.

Bizmedia Ltd- publisher of e.learning age and organiser of the E-Learning Awards- has entered into a new partnership with Towards Maturity, the not-for-profit company which promotes good practices around the use of technology learning in the workplace.

Clive Snell, Bizmedia, Managing Director said: “We have worked with Towards Maturity over a number of years. Through their benchmark research, they  contribute significantly to the understanding of learning technologies in the workplace and we’re pleased we are set to continue and develop our relationship for the benefit of the e-learning profession reinforcing many of the key issues we cover in our media and in our awards.”

Towards Maturity has become the exclusive good practice partner for  Bizmedia identifying effective implementation practices from the e-learning age awards in order to share  ideas more widely through the e.learning age magazine, both online and in print.

The partnership will result in case studies of E-Learning Award winners that draw out good practice. These will be be published in the e.learning age Magasine and on the Towards Maturity site. Two good practice briefings will also be published in the magazine based on Towards Maturity’s research and model. The first of these will take a closer look at effective leadership development.

 Laura Overton, Managing Director of Toward Maturity, said: “The e-learning awards have gone from strength to strength and we look forward to working with Bizmedia to draw out practical lessons from the winners  & sharing the secrets of their success more widely so that everyone can benefit’

We support a wide range of awards including the e-learning age awards, the Training Journal awards and the Institute of IT Training's awards and always look forward to sharing best practice that comes from the winners.

With this in mind we wanted to let you know about a new award programme and conference from Informatology  where you get to be the judges! (deadline for registering interest in the award programme is 15th April).

It's not often that you would see Miles Templeton , Director General of the IOD, Ruby Wax and our very own Nick Shackleton Jones and Clive Shepherd and perhaps YOU on the same conference agenda.

Do take a look and get involved!

Are you involved in a project or initiative that could interest others in HR and in L&D?

If so, Informatology invite you to enter for the 2011 Peer Award for Excellence. As a finalist, you would be invited to speak at the Peer Conference on 21, 22 or 23 June in London.

What's special is that it is a "Peer" Award, because conference attendees listen to your ideas and then determine the winner.

The Peer Conference is not like other conferences
It is about having real conversations with the speakers and fellow participants. It is not about sitting through a day packed with talks.

The Peer Award is not like other awards
It is about expressing your ideas, and gaining the recognition of conference participants that hear you speak. It is also about possibly winning a prestigious national business award.

Some key facts...

Categories
You enter for one of these six award categories, each of which is also the theme of a Peer Conference stream...
* Coaching
* Leadership
* Talent
* Technology for Learning.
* Learning & Development
* Corporate Responsibility
Please pass this invitation to your colleagues in these areas.
See http://www.informatology.com/peerawards/category/

Deadlines
All categories are open for registration by 15 April, with your 500-word write-up due by 22 April.
Some categories may remain open for later entry, until 1 June.
See http://www.informatology.com/peerawards/enter/

Candidates Package
Registration gives you three whole-day conference places for the seminar of your talk for the price of one, plus entry to the award.
See http://www.informatology.com/peerawards/fees/

Attending Only
Not ready to submit an entry but keen to participate? Book seminar places now, before the initial conference programme is published on 1 May, and you get £100 off each day-place.
See http://www.informatology.com/conference/the-fees/

Speakers
Miles Templeman, Director General at The Institute of Directors; Carol Wilson, Managing Director at Performance Coach Training,  Nick Shackleton-Jones, Group Head of e-Learning at BP (and previously at the BBC) and our own Laura Overton, Managing Director at Towards Maturity, are already confirmed as conference co-chairs.
See http://www.informatology.com/conference/seminar/

Find out more
Everything is explained at the website, and you can join one of our conference call chats where all your questions are answered.
See http://www.informatology.com/peerawards/intro/

The Masterclasses
An exciting Masterclass series  also takes place at the same Conference including Ruby Wax's Less stress leadership class, Julie Starr's Coaching Masterclass  and a Social Media Masterclass with Nick Shackleton-Jones and Clive Shepherd!
See http://www.informatology.com/conference/masterclass/

So, inspired by the signs of growth in our parks and gardens, it might be time to take a look at how we can spring clean our own e-learning estate & prepare to increase our success later on in the year!

There are 3 things to consider as part of an e-learning spring clean. The first is to clean up, the next is to prepare and the third is to start planting!

Step 1 - Cleaning up

The recession has driven a massive uptake of traditional e-learning programmes but it is difficult to implement new ideas if your organisation is covered with the debris from a previous season. Over the next few weeks why not start the clean up process by reviewing your current e-learning offering?

1. Consider what debris is lying around- why not start a review of your current e-learning offering or your marketing programmes? How relevant are they? Do they map your business’s current priorities? If you don’t know, try asking!

2. What needs to be up-rooted and binned? How many programmes are you currently offering that are doing more harm than good?  How many are putting staff off from trying new ideas? How many have been driven purely by the technology and not by the need (be honest now!)

3. What needs to be tidied up or moved to a different position? – are your programmes too long, too short, too fussy, too old? Should they be more integrated with your face to face offering or reengineered for a new season?

Step 2 - Prepare

4. Understand the microclimate - gardeners understand when the last frosts are due, what the PH of their soil is so that they can plan the timing of their next step. Many organisations are facing change at the moment and uncertainty slows growth but looking at the wider business issues can help us to plan. Is there a merger going on that in the future will create an opportunity for new uses of technology for learning and sharing? Is the L&D department currently being restructured? – will the new department need to take a fresh look at the way they use technology in learning? if yes, then what can we do now to use these circumstances to get ready for the future?

5. Take an Inventory. Avid gardeners pouring over catalogues as spring approaches, but they also conduct an inventory to understand what they need to order moving forward. Why not take a fresh look at what technologies are already in use in the business or are available for free that you can start to harness and build into your plans.  If someone else has already made the case for online meetings or the use of social media then find out about it and piggy back on their success.  Taking a media inventory will help stretch your budget and save time in the long run.

6. Sharpen Your Tools. Blunt tools can be dangerous to both the plants and the gardener. In the same way, when it comes to using learning technologies, blunt skills of learning and development professionals can potentially poison learners and seriously damage the reputation of a new initiative. 3 out of 5 organisations say that L&D skills are a barrier that restricting the growth of e-learning in organisations, now is the time to take action and build your own skills.

7. Pruning and reshaping. In preparing the garden for e-learning success, we need to know what to prune back. Are some programmes taking up too much time or too many resources for the position that they are in? Sometimes it is useful to restructure a programme to bring it back to life. On other occasions, it might be helpful to cut out elements of existing programmes completely if they are no longer necessary or costly to maintain.

8. Preparing the soil. In business, good soil comes from our stakeholder engagement strategy, the more we develop relationships with our stakeholders, understanding and responding to needs,  the more likely our programmes are to take root and produce fruit. Gardeners find that hard frosts make it almost impossible to dig at the time but once the sun starts to come out, the frost has actually broken up the ground, making it much easier to prepare for planting.   If organisational changes have frozen your relationships with stakeholders, keep an eye out for signs of upturn or fresh opportunities within the business. As you emerge from times of austerity, keep an eye out for fresh ways of re-engaging with stakeholders , you may find that they receive new ideas with fresh enthusiasm.

Step 3 – Start planting

10. Start Your Seeds. Don’t forget to use pilots to help you plant new ideas. Piloting a new programme with a few users in a sheltered spot helps you adapt it and nuture it so that it is fit for transplanting into  your whole organisation. Only 40% of organisations complete and report on pilot projects when it comes to e-learning but those that do consistently report better results.

The spring time challenge for all of us is to not just to admiring the colour in everyone else’s garden but to do some spring cleaning in our own so that we can start to prepare the ground for great results this year.

Why not visit in the Towards Maturity Benchmark Centre to find out how your current implementation programme compares with your peers. It will help you kick start your spring clean - find out more here.

Delivering results with learning technologies – getting there faster and smarter

The first joint Towards Maturity in association with the British Institute for Learning and Development (the BILD)- Delivering results with learning technologies – getting there faster and smarter was held on the 12th of April and led by Laura Overton. 

This interactive session drew on research with over 1200 organisations and practical case studies to investigate how to avoid costly mistakes that lead to obscurity and fast track your way to success. Delegates were provided with specific resources to help:

• Increase buy in for new learning approaches
• Market effectively to learners and managers

It was fitting that the event which helped participants aim high in delivering results, was hosted by WSP  who are  a global design engineering and management consultancy company behind the creation of iconic structures such as The Shard, London, World Trade Centre, New York and the Zayed Museum, Abu Dhabi!

Here we provide a quick overview for those unable to attend on the day!

What implementation practices influence results?

The highly interactive session drew on Towards Maturity’s extensive longitudinal research.   Towards Maturity have identified 6 workstreams of implementation practices that really make a difference. Compared with the bottom quartile, those organisations in the top quartile of these practices are achieving:

• Twice the audience take-up
• 33% additional cost savings
• 50% more savings in study time
• 6 times decrease in time to proven competency

Each of the 6 workstreams involve engaging key stakeholders, however research has shown that many organisations struggle to get buy in and as a consequence fail to deliver the results they are looking for.

This seminar specifically provided an interactive process to help delegates conduct a stakeholder mapping exercise to increase effectiveness and engagement.

The exercises throughout the day usedinduction/onboarding programme as an example but could be applied for any new initiative. The session focussed on marketing and communication rather than design which is also a critical component for success.

Here are just a few of the steps in the stakeholder mapping process:

Clarify opportunities and potential objections

Understand the barriers and opportunities relevant to your organisation - knowing what you want to achieve and the obstacles you are up against is important for success. The table discussions provided some really interesting feedback; what were regarded as opportunities could, in a slightly different context, also be seen as barriers.  For example, taking a ‘Martini’ approach of anytime anywhere learning, could be seen by some members of staff as being a negative experience; as rather than being given time off to undertake learning, people were expected to learn in their own time.  Whilst social media and informal approaches open up lots of new routes to learning, they can also give rise to their own challenges.  Social media channels are often blocked by the organisation and senior management don’t always trust informal learning as a reliable as by its very nature it’s not easy to control.

Identifying key stakeholders that will influences success

Influential stakeholders will help organisations realise the benefits and also overcome the barriers. The group identified a number of stakeholders who would influence the success of induction programmes include including the HR function, Finance Managers, the SMT, the Learners, Line Managers, IT staff. All of these would have an interest in the learning programme but all would be looking for different results. 

Wanting different outcomes was not the only difference between stakeholders, each stakeholder also held a slightly different position in terms of power and influence within the organisation as well as interest in learning process. Therefore, although carrying out a stakeholder mapping exercise is a key step to successful engagement; it’s only the first step.

Understanding stakeholder motivation

A one size fits all engagement strategy would definitely not fit all. Groups were asked to put themselves into the shoes of the different stakeholders to identify, in terms organisation or individual performance levels, what would be keeping them awake at night?  We quickly came to the conclusion that it was not going to be training or technologies. For example:

• Learners are most likely to be concerned about how can I get noticed quickly in my new organisation, how can I settle in and be more confident
• Managers are most likely to be concerned about their Key Performance indicators e.g. profit and loss, turnover, targets, career progression, service levels, quality targets, sales etc. A key message was that these will vary from business to business – find out yours!

Clarifying stakeholder communication  - the 'What’s In It for Me'?

Looking at opportunities and barriers from the perspective of different groups of stakeholders allowed delegates to develop a short ‘elevator pitch’ that was targeted, succinct and far more likely to lead to successful engagement.

Does your current messaging resonate with your audience?

Delegates were encouraged to review current communications messaging in line with the new messages developed that are directly aligned to stakeholder motivation – this simple exercise identified a number of gaps that could be closed. 

Key learning points:

• dentify the opportunities and barriers that learning technologies can offer our organisation? – don’t be surprised if some things fit into both categories, it’s all a matter of perspective.
• Know and understand your stakeholders, what power/influence do they have within the organisation? Are the stakeholders interested in the learning outcomes and if they are, what is their interest? What is keeping your stakeholders awake at night - what are their needs?
• Map the opportunities and benefits that the learning programme will bring against stakeholder requirements - Identify the WIFM that is significant to them and communicate it to them in language they will understand.

Full resources from the day including examples, case studies, templates and exercises are available for free for premium users of the Towards Maturity Benchmark Centre.

About the Towards Maturity Benchmark Centre

The Towards Maturity online benchmark centre applies everything we know about good practice to provide organisations with personal practical time saving advice. It takes you through a 3 step continuous improvement process to build unique snapshot of your organisation that helps you take the best action to delivers business benefits.

Basic users will receive the following for free:

• A standard report outlining:
• Your performance indicators across the 6 workstreams and where you compare with the top quartile performers and the average of the group.
• Your own Towards Maturity Index* (TMI) - a snapshot assessment of your current level of implementation maturity to compare against top quartile organisations and the average.
• Feedback on where you stand on each of the 6 Towards Maturity workstreams compared with others

If you want to receive personal practical time saving advice including all the resources that were distributed prior to and following the workshop, we recommend that you register as a Premium User.  In addition to the basic service you will also receive:

• A detailed implementation report providing you with feedback against 19 specific activity areas within the model to help you fine tune your action plan.
• Tailored recommendations on actions to take for each activity area to help accelerate performance together with targeted resources to help you get there.
• An action planner to help you outline objectives and gather resources together to improve in each activity area.
• Detailed templates ,hints and tips and how to guides to support action.
• The opportunity to download your action planner to help support your internal planning
• The opportunity to retake the benchmark and compare results up to 6 times in a year to help monitor progress.

To register login here.  For a limited time we are offering an introductory discount to this new service.  If you would like more details, we would love to hear from you on elearning@towardsmaturity.org
 

Marketing departments have very similar challenges to the learning and development function in business – both are looking to improve the way that they connect with consumers (or learners), drive leads (engagement) and influence behaviour.

Marketers are increasingly looking to social media to help with the challenge. The Chartered Institute of Marketing highlight that 17% of participants in their most recent Marketing Trends Survey say that their spend on online marketing is greater than their spend in offline marketing. Recent research with 100+ marketers flagged that 96% are now using social media in their digital marketing mix with 3 in 5 having a presence on facebook and LinkedIn(Digital Disciplines Report Feb 2011).

Many within L&D are looking to follow this lead (the latest TM Benchmark highlights that over 70% plan to use social media in our learning mix over the next 12 months) but very few are currently doing so (with fewer than 20% using facebook and LinkedIn).  Given that the marketing department are ahead in adoption, what top tips can L&D learn from our marketing colleague’s successes and mistakes? Here are just a few ideas that we have picked up from a number of great marketing blogs and reports*:

1. Master the art of conversation

Marketers have found out the hard way that social media is not just about broadcasting your company’s products and news; it is best used to engage consumers in conversations that are of interest to them.  Consumers are more interested in the brand and there is an added bonus that marketers can use conversations to help to build understanding of client’s needs which in turn results in building better products.

Lessons for L&D – don’t use social media to shout about your existing learning services but about engaging in new types of conversations between staff so that knowledge and understanding is shared and acted upon.

2. Insight - Understand your consumers (learners)

Many marketers have created great new sites with lots of cool gadgets to promote conversations with their audience without really knowing what their consumers actually think or what their information needs are.  First Direct Bank understood this in their marketing campaign to win back consumer confidence following the banking crisis. They already had insight into their customers and knew that their customers appreciated the small things that the bank did for them. This insight then helped their marketing agency come up with the idea to film reactions of their customers to the bank just doing nice things like giving out chocolates and flowers and then publish live feeds on the bank’s site. The programme got national coverage and resulted in over 1, 600, 0000 hits on the site thanks to a little bit of insight.

Lessons for L&D - This concept works in learning as well for example BT found out what staff were doing naturally in order to design their Dare2 Share platform plus they monitored what learning conversations were taking place in the business via the platform to identify new learning needs that weren’t currently being met.

3. Find out where the conversations are happening & go there.

The CIM report flagged up a very useful point about meeting consumers where they are most comfortable. They outline that consumers tend to stick in a few online ‘villages’ (e.g. Facebook, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Skype, Twitter) where they trust the brand and are confident in the content that they receive their rather than roam around. Marketers are advised to set up a presence in their customer’s village where they are comfortable rather than to try and drive them to another unfamiliar site. When GSK, the brand behind Ribena wanted to reach the mums to engage them with the product, they worked in partnership with Mumsnet as well as using channels like You-Tube to get their message across. (Check out their story)

Lessons for L&D – do we actually know what online ‘villages’ our staff are comfortable in? are we meeting them there or creating new sites that contribute to information overload?

4. Sharing great content is at the heart of engagement

Continually sharing and giving great content that is useful or informative is at the heart of good marketing engagement. The Content Marketing Institute advocate that content developers need to be generous with content – it has to be useful, has to be relevant, has to keep the consumer wanting more.

Lessons for L&D - are we looking to be generous in our sharing via social media? Busy staff need practical ideas to help them in their job - hints and tips, job aids, new approaches, case studies, toolkits. Social media really kicks in when the learner is where they belong – in the heart of their workplace.

5. Creating consumer stars

Going back to the Ribena project, 12 families were invited to spend the day on a blackcurrant farm in the UK and 4 different stories were created where mums were at the heart of exploring the brand (the britishiness of the product, the goodness of the product etc) and these were then shared via a range of social media platform.  When the consumers became stars of the content, it increased loyalty and created more advocates.

Lessons for L&D – if we want to exploit the opportunities that social media has to offer to change behaviour, how can we make learners the stars of the content, converting them from reluctant recipients of learning to passionate advocates for sharing? Better still how can we help them create their own content to share ideas and good practices with others?

6. Prompting useful conversations

Both the First Direct Bank and Ribena programmes used consumer centric content to stimulate conversations in online places which in turn led to increased awareness and behaviour change. They weren’t afraid to share and this sharing got the campaigns noticed

Lessons for L&D – we create a lot of content within our profession but, at the very basic level, do we use social media to allow staff to have conversations around what we create, or for that matter, what they create? For example can staff discuss how they are using content back in the workplace, what they think about it, what they would change?  Are we enabling broader conversations with experts in the business?

7. Aligning to business strategy but master the tools

Pete Caputa ,blogging on Hubspot, flags the importance of aligning the use of social tools to business objectives but insists that marketers need to also master those tools if they are going to be effective.

Lessons for L&D – how do we build confidence in new tools? If you haven’t already done so check out how Cheshire ICT Services built skills within their team plus Jane Hart’s Handbook on social learning tools.

I have been intrigued for years about the lessons that marketing and learning and development can explore with each other. The social media agenda has provided even more overlap. Struggling with the same challenges, they may prove to be a useful ally for organisations looking to embrace social learning more fully.

*If you are interested in more marketing perspectives, here are some useful sites & reports:

• What hasn’t happened yet – the shape of things to come (Chartered Institute of Marketing report)
• Digital Disciplines Report by Rocket
• Content Management Institute -
• Utalkmarketing.com

LONDON, 7 February  2011: The internationally recognised benchmarking practice Towards Maturity has launched its online Benchmark Centre at http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org for learning and development professionals who need to accelerate their organisations’ performance through effective use of learning technology.

Building on the success of its ongoing Benchmark Study, an internationally recognised longitudinal study based on the inputs of 1,200 organisations and 3,000 learners over the last 8 years, this new dynamic, web-based resource supports continuous improvement within the L&D workflow. Organisations are able to review their current processes, compare with established good practices and use expert resources to develop and refine action plans via 24x7 access. The site was officially launched in front of 130 L&D professionals at this year’s Learning Technologies Exhibition and Conference (26-27 January 2011).

Use of the Benchmark Centre is free, with a reasonably priced annual subscription giving access to richer functionality via premium membership to save time and deliver ongoing benefits , including templates, expert guides, action planning tools and 6 personalised feedback reports per year to help track progress.

A pilot group of more than 400 organisations who contributed to the 2010 benchmark survey have already received personalised reports which enable them to compare their own progress against the benchmark. With the launching of the new Benchmarking Centre they and new users of the site are now able, having identified areas of priority focus for improvement, to build a tailored action plan with dates and times, which can export to Microsoft Outlook. Going forward they are then able to monitor and quantify the results of their actions. In addition, the system provides personalised support, tips, resources, and areas to think about.

Extensive user testing within the pilot group has helped steer development, and initial user feedback has been highly positive. Fae Longman, responsible for IT training at CMS Cameron McKenna LLP said ‘I really welcome the new Towards Maturity Benchmark centre – it is intuitive, easy to use and packed full of useful resources. But it  differs from other online sites as the centre helps you act on your benchmark results by providing recommendations for next steps and an action planning area that keeps you on track’
 
Towards Maturity’s Managing Director, Laura Overton, who recently featured at number four in the list of the UK’s top ‘E-Learning Movers and Shakers’, said ‘We are finding that more organisations than ever are looking at learning technologies to help deliver responsive solutions to pressing skills and performance issues. Now more than ever, we need to build on established good practice to achieve our goals faster and smarter. We know from the wealth of positive feedback we have received about our work to date that many organisations are already deriving a great deal of value from our benchmarking research – and now we have a tool that places benchmarking within the heart of planning workflow, where it can become a strategic and practical resource for L&D.’

The Towards Maturity Benchmark Centre was developed by the Red E Toolkit team, a partnership between Schemeta and Gooii.

Note to Editors

About Towards Maturity
Toward Maturity’s not for profit benchmark practice provides independent expert advice and support in using learning innovation to accelerate business performance. Towards Maturity leverages the wealth of data provided by its benchmark, an internationally recognised longitudinal study based on the inputs of 1,200 organisations and 3,000 learners over 8 years. Benchmark findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website.
http://www.towardsmaturity.org/
The Towards Maturity Benchmark Centre <http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org>
2010 Towards Maturity Benchmark Survey<http://www.towardsmaturity.org/2010benchmark>
Follow Towards Maturity on Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/towardsmaturity>

The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme
Effective implementation practices are constantly evolving. To keep up to date, 2011 Towards Maturity Benchmark Research is being supported by industry Ambassadors who share a passion for ensuring that independent advice is freely available to all.
The Ambassador Programme was launched in November 2010:

• Founding Ambassadors:
o Brightwave
o Epic
o GlobalEnglish
o LINE Communications
o LMMatters
o Plateau Systems
o Redtray
o The Charity Learning Consortium
• Ambassadors:
o CERTPOINT Systems
o Element K
o Fusion-Universal
o Toolwire

The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme  - http://www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

Press contact:
Laura Overton
laura@towardsmaturity.org      

Despite indications that the economy is slowly recovering, the pressure to add value, justify cost and deliver results for L&D teams appears to be increasing on a daily basis.  When we don’t have the luxury of time to make and learn from our mistakes, all help is welcome if we are to work faster and smarter in 2011! For me, the Learning Technologies event at Olympia certainly provides a great opportunity to learn from others as  it concentrates a wealth of experiences - 200 exhibitors, 400 delegates and over 40 speakers -into just 2 days.

My time was spread equally between the conference and the exhibition floors but the energy and enthusiasm across the whole event was impressive. With so much going on, it is easy to feel that you are missing something – after all , you can’t be in more than one place at one time (despite being surrounded by technology). However, I have to admit that I have been thoroughly enthralled by the back channel* and commentary surrounding the event   which has helped me to reflect on lessons learned from the 2 days.

Here are just of the few of the lessons that I picked up – many of which our research has already highlighted  really make a difference to engagement, efficiency and business performance:

Lesson 1 A critical perspective on delivering more for less:

Roger Schanks set the scene for the 2 days, talking about how the corporate training world must change. Getting it right involves shifting our focus from the technology and tuning into how the mind  works so that we can create more meaningful and engaging interactions – a theme that was picked up regularly throughout the conference (Clark Quinn’s mind map of Roger’s talk is great if you missed it) .  Many speakers considered how to improve learner experience by using social media to connect staff with each other and experts, using immersive environments that mimicking the workplace, allowing staff to learn from mistakes rather than suffer consequences, to open up conversations that inspire. A number of speakers (including Cathy Moore who provides a very useful post conference check list) explored how these approaches can be embedded into instructional design to create programmes that are effective and memorable.

Building programmes based on the learner, not the technology, means that delivering more for less starts to take on a new meaning. It should no longer be about reaching more people with more dull uninspired e-learning courses for less money. Instead technology is opening doors to deliver more quality, more experience and more effectiveness (with less boredom and frustration!)

Lesson 2 Getting started with social learning tools - just do it!

There were many great inputs from many social media and web 2.0 (or is it Web x.o now?!) looking at the potential that new media have for opening new conversations and creating meaningful and authentic interaction. However, Craig Taylor's practical session based on his personal journey over the last 12 months probably was the most memorable of all (and certainly generated the most backchat). His exhortation to non technical L&D professionals was to just do it - be prepared to do a bit of research to actually do something which what you have found out and be prepared to fail!

Lesson 3 Strategies for engaging learners

In addition to reviewing instructional design approaches (tip 1) both Johanna Sadoudi, Director - Learning Development L’Oréal and Justin Dunn  - Head of Learning at Royal Sun alliance illustrated how they took a strategic decision to link technology enabled learning with job roles and competencies highlighted. This approach was embedded in Justin Dunn's vision statement for their work 'Our goal is to keep you moving by giving greater access to learning and development for everyone at RSA, giving you the opportunity to build the skills and knowledge you need for your role today, but also for your next role...wherever you are in the world.” 

Carlos Gonzales Alonso, responsible for a major international rollout at Spanish bank Caja Madrid demonstrated the importance of developing a  full understanding of who his learners were, their demographics, their motivation, their expectation, , what motivated them up front in the implementation process in order to create dynamic learning programmes to engage staff.

All of these organisations provided examples of their in depth marketing and promotional programmes but these in turn were only successful because of the extensive pre-work that had been invested up front.

Lesson 4 Building the right business plan to engage the right stakeholders

Engaging the right sponsors however is dependent on creating a kick ass business plan that focused on value propositions that are critical for the sponsor rather than for you. Justin Dunn emphasised the importance of investing time in building the right business case because most stakeholders don’t get it. For organisations faced with a negative IT department (the Innovation Prevention Department!)  Craig Taylor exhorted delegates to look for sponsors within the business who are more influential than you to do battle on your behalf.

Sarah Parr at public sector organisation Liverpool Direct picked up on the importance of keeping the plan flexible ,letting the model of learning delivery evolve rather than setting it in stone (ensuring that it continues to flex to changing business needs).

One word of warning

Following the event there has been much discussion about the main conference presenting the future thinking and the exhibition floor presenting ‘the same old same old’ ( see Steve Wheelers blog post and Karyn Romeis post conference review). I dont necessarily agree. From where I was standing, many of the same themes were presented on both floors (although perhaps somewhat diluted on lower floors). The Brightwave debate that I was involved in downstairs certainly showed that the audiences downstairs picked up on the issues of using technology to support business - the movement from content to conversations, the importance of business engagement and the changes facing L&D in the future.

But the issue is that despite the inspiration and opportunity outlined at the event, the majority of organisations are responding to increased pressure by just doing even more of what they have always done rather than acting on what we know will make a difference! (David Wilson was almost booed off the twitter stage by pointing this out!)

We know from our own research we have identified that many of the inspirational ideas for action presented at LT2011 really do work – we’ve evidence that putting this stuff into practice delivers results! But we also know that not enough of us are turning great ideas into actions.
For example out of 400 private, public and not for profit organisations who took part in our research:

• only 22% support career goals and aspirations with learning technology
• only 26% blend their use of technologies (from social media for collaboration to content for delivery)
• only 38% say their L&D teams are confident in the use of new media
• only 37% agree that their vision is endorsed by business leaders.

I could go on!

Many of our benchmark participants were at LT 2011 (both upstairs and downstairs). Intuitively all organisations agree with the inspirational ideas presented but the issue is that only some organisations actually them turn them into action, many more of us are comfortable with sticking to what we know and are familiar with. (No wonder that many of the vendors struggle to break out into new territory).

Time for action

Now is not the time for petty squabbling on who has the monopoly on great practices. We have so much knowledge about what deliver results at our fingertips but there is a danger that our knowledge will  just gather dust unless we do something with it. For our contribution to LT 2011, we conducted 2 seminars withover 130 people looking at 3 simple steps to improve results in 2011. Those steps were first review what you are currently doing, then compare with others who are actually making progress then act  on what you have found out.

This is at the centre of getting real value from the LT2011 experience, it is the essence of benchmarking and it is at the heart of delivering results faster and smarter in 2011.

*Dave Kelly has provided a great summary of all the back channel links to the show (#LT11UK) at http://misadventuresinlearning.blogspot.com/2011/01/learning-technologies-backchannel.html.

Find out about the Towards Maturity Benchmark Centre launched at Learning Technologies 2011 here

Here are some of the key points from a seminar that we first delivered  at Learning Technologies 2011 to over 130 people looking at  at 3 simple steps to delivering results with learning technologies.  We hope you will find useful in your journey with learning technologies.  The session draws on the findings of the  2010-11 Towards Maturity Benchmark.

The promise of learning technologies

For many organisations the promise of technology in learning is incredibly powerful. They are looking for technology to help them:

• be more responsive to business challenges
• get staff up and running and changing direction faster than ever before
• extend the reach of their learning offering
• Whilst saving time and money and without compromising quality!

But once organisationshave embarked on a journey with learning technologies the path to achieving the required results isn’t always clear. Many find themselves stuck often overwhelmed by choices and options & regularly unable to engage the staff in their business.

Yet some are more successful than others. So what can we learn from them?

Over the years, 1200 benchmark participants over 8 years have helped us to identify 6 workstreams of learning technology implementation practices that consistently correlate to improved benefits– take up, efficiency and ultimately business performance. The 6 workstreams are divided into 19 activity areas which in turn are made up of over 90 individual actions and behaviours that all influence success. These actions at the heart of the Towards Maturity Model.

The new TM Index is a single benchmark of implementation maturity across the 6 workstreams.  We found that, compared with organisations in the bottom quartile of the TM Index, the organisations in the top quartile are reporting :

• 2x audience take up
• 33% additional cost saving
• 50% additional saving in study time
• 6x decrease in time to proven competency
• 6x  more likely to report increased productivity
• 3 x as likely to report improved customer satisfaction

(see chapter 3 and 4 of the 2010-11 benchmark study for more information on the TM Index).

3 simple steps to improve results

We found that as the TM Index increases, the reported results also increase. So here are  3 simple steps to help improve your TM Index (and your results):

• REVIEW  - look at the 90 different implementation areas and consider those where you are stronger and weaker 
• COMPARE – first compare your responses with others to identify priority action areas and then take a closer look at how others have addressed these areas
• ACT - Take action based on what you find!

These 3 steps are the essence of benchmarking. Benchmarking is used by business to help develop an action plan to increase performance. It is often seen  as a continuous process in which organisations continually seek to improve their practices.

Lets take a look at these 3 simple steps in action for you:

Review

Consider the following statements ( all of which correlate to business results)

On a scale of 1 to 9 , how true are these statements for you? (1 being not true, 9 being very true)

1. We know what learning technologies can do for us
2. Our e-learning supports the skills the business needs
3. We encourage learners to share experiences and solve problems together using social media
4. Our face to face courses actively build on knowledge gained through e-learning
5. Learners have access to job aids
6. Our top managers are seen to use e-learning
7. We measure business metrics when evaluating effectiveness

Compare

Download the PDF below to understand how widespread these activities are and how  your answers compare with over 400 of your peers.  In the download, we have also provided you with some feedback and links to example case studies or resources to help you benchmark further. The compare process also llustrates how you could address some of the areas in your action plan.

Act

As a result of this review and compare exercise, what action do you now plan to take? We’ve found that many of the activity areas are common sense but not necessarily common practice.

Get started today - complete your full review for free

This exercise is just a quick example of how benchmarking works. Our first recommended action would be to complete a full review of your implementation against the 90 different areas in the new Towards Maturity Benchmark Centre.

You can find out for free what your TM index is and which of the 6 workstreams are strongest and weakest for you. It will cost you about 40 minutes of your time but may save months in the long term.

70% of organisations who complete the review alone have found that the process provided  them with new ideas to try out.

You can also use the benchmark centre to provide a focus for continual improvement – premium users can receive detailed feedback, have access to resources and keep track of their action plans.

As this is a continually changing industry, Towards Maturity commit to maintaining the benchmark and recalibrating the results on an annual basis, working with our ambassadors and industry supporters to ensure that it continually reflects ongoing good practices that influence results. We also continually update the resources and case studies within the centre so do let us know what you think and what you would like to see there.

Find out more

Get started in the TM Benchmark Centre at www.towardsmaturity.org/mybenchmark

Find out more about the TM Benchmark Centre here

Download the slides from the presentation and further information and resources on the 7 activity areas covered in this article from the links below.

You don't have to be logged in to download these resources, but if you enjoyed the seminar or have found this useful, please tweet your recommendations!

Maintaining and build the skills of key customer-facing staff is critical in achieving this and the sector is looking beyond the classroom to new learning models to address these skills more efficiently and effectively.

This study builds on the Towards Maturity Benchmark but specifically looks to investigate how learning technologies are being leveraged in the sector and the impact that they are having on business performance and will result in an independant industry benchmark to support ongoing innovation in the automotive sector.

Who should take part?

This is aimed at all of those responsible for delivering skills and product training across the distribution chain within the European automotive sector.

Specifically we will be investigating:

• How technologies are currently being used to support sales, marketing and technical staff across the network
• Barriers
• Improving engagement
• Future plans and expectations

Click here to take part on line or contact us if you would like further information

Whilst many companies have started to use learning technologies, not all have achieved the benefits that they have expected. We invite you to take part in a completely confidential benchmarking study to look at how the automotive industry can share and build on good practices to accelerate their performance through learning innovation. The aim of this research is to help all participants and the industry as a whole to improve the impact of learning technologies in the workplace.

This in-depth study been sponsored by Toyota Europe and all participants will receive a copy of the final sector benchmark report and a short individual comparison summary to support their own journey with learning technologies.

All responses are treated completely confidentially.

You may complete the study online - click here to take part. If you would prefer us to contact you by phone then please contact us directly at elearning@towardsmaturity.org

Towards Maturity create a ‘Treasure Trail’ for Learning Technologies – featuring four new Ambassadors

LONDON, 24 January 2011: The internationally recognised benchmarking practice Towards Maturity will be running a ‘Treasure Trail’ at this year’s Learning Technologies Exhibition and Conference (26-27 January, Olympia 2, London). Visitors to the exhibition who wish to participate can pick up a map at the Towards Maturity-hosted coffee area (C25) or download it online here. The Trail plots a route around the exhibition floor, stopping at stands of ‘Ambassador’ companies affiliated to Towards Maturity, each of whom will provide a piece of ‘treasure’ in the form of a practical resource or guide to support L&D professionals on their journey with learning technologies.

Ambassadors, whose numbers have recently been swollen by the addition of four new companies, are learning providers who share common vision and values of working together to identify and share good practice ideas and support Towards Maturity’s internationally recognized benchmarking study;. The new ambassadors are Element K, Toolwire, Fusion Universal and CERTPOINT Systems. The Ambassador Programme has received enthusiastic support from the learning technologies community since its introduction before Christmas.

Maria van Vlodrop, General Manager, CERTPOINT Systems Europe, said: ‘CERTPOINT is proud to play a role in helping raise the awareness of companies that are successfully using learning technology to improve their business results. We encourage our customers to benchmark with other companies with the view to learn how to further improve their own performance. As such, having access to independent benchmarking studies from “Towards Maturity” will further contribute to collective good practice and further drive our industry forward’.

John Valencia, President and CEO of Toolwire, said: ‘We are delighted to be associated with Towards Maturity. Toolwire has an immersive ‘learning by doing’ approach to develop productive skilled people and we believe that having a research organization dedicated to identifying great practices that align with proven outcomes will surely accelerate the innovation and adoption of new learning technologies in the marketplace’

Managing Director Laura Overton, who this month featured at number four in the list of the UK’s top ‘E-Learning Movers and Shakers’, said ‘It is really heartening for our industry that we have had such an enthusiastic response to our Ambassador Programme. Our Ambassadors represent all aspects of the rich industry that we represent and I welcome our new members. We’ve also been impressed by all of our Ambassador’s readiness to share quality resources through the Treasure Trail at Learning Technologies 2011. Learning professionals who follow the Trail will receive an absolute wealth of support to help them in their journey towards maturity in the use of innovative learning. Those on the trail can pick up free help on setting strategy for e-learning and mobile learning plus ideas for engaging learners, improving instructional design and harnessing informal learning to support talent management.’

Laura Overton will be delivering two free floor seminars over the two days of the event giving three simple steps to accelerate business performance with learning technologies. She will also participate as a panellist in the Brightwave-hosted debate, ‘A road map to 2020 - how can learning technologies support fast-changing business practice’ (details of all seminars below). In addition, staff and associates of Towards Maturity will be available to answer queries and discuss individual issues and problems in the Towards Maturity-hosted coffee area on the exhibition floor (C25), throughout the two days of the event.

Note to Editors

About Towards Maturity

Toward Maturity’s not for profit benchmark practice provides independent expert advice and support in using learning innovation to accelerate business performance. Towards Maturity leverages the wealth of data provided by its benchmark, an internationally recognised longitudinal study based on the inputs of 1,200 organisations and 3,000 learners over 8 years. Benchmark findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on the website.
http://www.towardsmaturity.org/
2010-11 Towards Maturity Benchmark Survey <http://www.towardsmaturity.org/2010benchmark>
Follow Towards Maturity on Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/towardsmaturity>

The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme

Effective implementation practices are constantly evolving. To keep up to date, 2011 Towards Maturity Benchmark Research is being supported by industry Ambassadors who share a passion for ensuring that independent advice is freely available to all.

The Ambassador Programme was launched in November 2010. Founding ambassadors are:
• Brightwave
• Epic
• GlobalEnglish
• LINE Communications
• LMMatters
• Plateau Systems
• Redtray
• The Charity Learning Consortium

The Towards Maturity Ambassador Programme  - http://www.towardsmaturity.org/ambassadors

TOWARDS MATURITY SPEAKER SESSION DETAILS AT LT 2011

Seminar sessions:

Three simple steps to accelerate business performance with learning technologies
Wednesday 26th January 2011 15:45 - 16:15 Theatre 9 (ground floor)
Thursday 26th January 2011 13:15 - 13:45 Theatre 1 (first floor)

Conference sessions:

Learning Implementation
Speakers: Joanna Sadoudi Director of Learning and Development at L’Oreal; Justin Dunn, Head of Learning at RSA Group
Track 3, Session 4, Thursday 27 January
Real learning strategies
Speakers: Carlos Gonzales Alonso – Director of Training at Caja Madrid; Sarah Parr, Head of L&D at Liverpool Direct
Track 3, Session 5, Thursday 27 January

Press contact:
Laura Overton
email: laura@towardsmaturity.org

The Towards Maturity Benchmark survey has been gathering 1200 organisation's experiences over the last 8 years we've been able to isolate some implementation practices that really deliver results(download the report here if you have not seen it yet) but effective practice constantly evolves.

To keep up to date, the benchmark research in 2011 will be made possible by industry Ambassadors and Supporters who share our passion for ensuring that independent advice is freely available to anyone who wants it!

Many will be at Learning Technologies 2011 and have practical resources of their own to share with you to help you accelerate performance through learning innovation – the treasure is here for the taking, and we have created a treasure trail through the show to help you find out ambassadors and supporters and pick up treasure that you can take back to support you on your journey with learning technologies.

visit us on C25 to pick up your map on the day or download the map to  help you find

• Treasure to help you set your strategy for 2011 (including ideas for not for profit organisations)
• Treasure to help you set your mobile strategy, taking full advantage of Mobile Apps 
• Treasure to help you engage learners and connect with GenY
• Treasure to help you improve instuctional design (including storytelling and experiential learning)
• Treasure to help you embrace social media and harness informal learning to support talent management
• Treasure to help your own CPD including great discounts on events and workshops, opportunities to connect to peers,  resources to help you be more efficient with MS Office or to master the virtual classroom

All our ambassadors share our values around sharing good ideas so do take time at LT to seek us all out to discover hidden treasures to help you!

Just look out for this sign to find those who are participating in the treasure trail -

You can visit Learning Technologies at London Olympia for free - details on registration can be found at www.learningtechnologies.co.uk

If you bring a copy of this artcle with you to LT (or print your own treasure map from this link  , you can swap it for a free coffee voucher on our stand C25.

In December, I took part in Business Educa, as part of the 16th Online Educa Berlin event. This year over 2000 people from 108 countries gathered to both look back at progress made in the field of learning technologies and to look forward at the opportunities ahead.  The opening keynotes touched on the fact that perhaps we have not made as much progress as we thought. Whilst the world around us is rapidly changing – from the way we shop, bank and connect globally to the way we interact with government, learning hasn’t necessarily followed the trend and often we have ended up automating our existing systems rather than transforming learning.

Adrian Sannier, Vice President of Product at Pearson eCollege, outlined that to date, we have been pushing technology into an existing education system and it just hasn’t been accepted in the ways that everyone thought. He challenged that if technology has the ability to help us do new things in extraordinary ways, we have to provide the opportunity rather than constrain technology by applying it to existing systems.

This isn’t just a challenge for education institutions. Our own research published last month highlighted that even in business, where we are less constrained by traditional learning conventions, we are not taking full advantage of these new opportunities. In fact over the last 18 months, whilst there has been a flood of interest in the use of technology in business learning, most of that enthusiasm has been directed into converting classroom courses into standalone e-learning programmes (the staple diet of 10 years ago) rather than transforming learning and performance support to really influence & support business change.

Why is this? At OEB, Charles Leadbetter outlined that our vantage point determines what we see – if we how  technology can  improve systems we end up just improving existing systems. If we ask how we can transform learning completely, we start from a completely different vantage point that will encourage transformation.

Business Educa  was new this year in Berlin and addressed the issue that senior business managers don’t want learning they want results. The conference explored the ways that those results can be achieved through collaborative intelligence and learning. And many examples were shared of how organisations had changed their own perspectives in order to use technology to deliver learning in new ways to improve results. A number of important vantage points stood out for me:

The collaboration vantage point

The opening sessions flagged the importance of team sport working collectively rather than individually to get things done and several Business Educa sessions provided inspiration on how this can be achieved. At an organisational level, Clark Quinn highlighted a great example of collaboration across the workforce with an engineering firm that asked new engineers to get involved in blogging and then the experiences older engineers to ‘correct’ the work of younger colleagues. This allowed sharing of experiences across the workforce whilst addressing different generation’s view of using technology. Collaborations also pays dividends across organisations and Martin Baker from the Charity Learning Consortium illustrated the power of team working to achieve more than working alone.

The customer vantage point

Joe Pokropski, is the Thomson Reuters’ first official Knowledge Network Ambassador and he outlined how their client learning services were transformed by looking at their provision from their customer’s perspective. Instead of looking at how many customers could be trained, their vision became ‘we have to imaging a way to help our customers use what they buy in order to be able to do what they want’ . This changed perspective opened up new ways of learning that also saved the company millions of dollars.

This also works when designing learning at an individual project level, Claudia Punstein from Canudo in Germany highlighted that putting yourself in your target’s audience shoes actually is more important than the technology or the design concepts and shared some really practical ideas to help do this.

The culture vantage point

Our own research has really highlighted the critical role of management and organisational culture in implementing new ways of learning but it was highlighted time and time again across the Business Educa programme, those organisations who consider and adapt to culture are able to implement change more effectively . Svetlana Omeltchenko from  British American Tobacco, shared her story about how they reviewed their traditional approach to learning and e-learning by building a system to connect content and conversations, creating a stream of knowledge for marketing professionals around the globe that connected to the real way that they do business. Josh Bersin highlighted that cultural issues that influence success are primarily driven by management not Learning and Development which creates another opportunity to look at learning innovation from a different viewpoint.

My personal observation is that over the last 10 years, we’ve occasionally glanced up to notice a different viewpoint but generally, we have been driven to use technology to improve what we’ve always done. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, the chairman for the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID), challenged the delegates at OEB that we need new eyes to see a new future . As we move into the next decade, it is critical that we use those new eyes to consider what we do from a different vantage point if we are to realise the full potential of learning technologies at work.

In addition to the exhibition over 2 floors, there are over 200 seminars to attend and a treasure trove of ideas to be had all for free

We've taken a look at the free seminars and have found 22 that have caught our eye (in addition to our own of course!) giving 22 great reasons for taking time out to attend - and the 23rd?

Once you have spent a few hours at the event, you'll be wanting to sit down and reflect - this year Towards Maturity will be hosting the new coffee area at C25 ,so bring a copy of this article with you and we'll swap it for a free coffee voucher - so you won't even have to pay for your drink :)

The show will be at Olympia 2 London and registration is completely free - do join us there!

4 reasons from a user perspective 

4 seminars presented by users that look worth seeing (you don't have to be at the conference to see top organisations sharing their experiences!)

• Igniting learning, performance and talent at Virgin Media, Thursday 27th January 2011
  12:30 - 13:00 - Theatre 3 (first floor)
• Revolutionising customer service through training - Mortgage Advice Bureau case study, thursday 27th January, 13:15 - 13:45 Theatre 4 (1st Floor)
• A collaborative approach to e-learning; pooling resources, skills and expertise at the NHS Thursday 27th January 2011, 14:00 - 14:30 Theatre 1 (1st floor)
• Exceptional times demand new ways to develop leaders at the Royal Bank of Scotland
  Thursday 27th January 2011,14:45 -  15:15 Theatre 1
   

3 reasons from our Perspective

Laura Overton from Towards Maturity will be sharing practical ideas from the 2010 benchmarking survey:

• 3 simple steps to accelerate business performance with learning technologies  our seminar will be held on Wednesday 26th January 2011 - 15:45 - 16:15 Theatre 9 (ground floor) and hursday 26th January 2011 13:15 - 13:45 Theatre 1 (first floor)

• We will be also launching our new Benchmark Centre at the event so that organisations can take part in our industry benchmark review when they need to rather than just once a year.

• Laura will also be a panelist at the Brightwave Keynote debate on the 26th of January:A road map to 2020: How can learning technologies support fast-changing business practice?  Wednesday 26th January, 2-3pm   - Theatre 1 (First floor)

15 reasons from our Ambassador and Supporter's perspective

Towards Maturity Ambassadors will also be sharing ideas around good practice at the event, we recommend the following:

Wednesday:

• Too Much Information with LMMatters, Wed 26th ,11:00 - 11:30 Theatre 5 (ground floor)
• Customer service and sales e-learning - blue Sky thinking,with Brightwave,Wed 26th Jan, 11.15am - 11.45am  theatre 7 (ground floor)
• Go beyond mLearning with Ktango!,with Certpoint,Wed26th , 12:30 - 13:00 - Theatre 2 (1st floor)
• Mobile learning: who, where, when, what, why, and how!, with Element K Wed 26th 12.45 - 13.15 Theatre 7 (grd floor)
• New dimensions in learning design, with LINE Communications, wed 26th, 12:45 - 13:15
  Theatre 8 (grd floor)
• Mind the content management gap, with Plateau Systems, Wed26th 13:15 - 13:45 Theatre
• Going Mobile with Epic 26th Jan, 15.30-16.00 seminar theatre: 2 (1st floor)

Thursday
 

• Multi-platform learning with LINE Communications Thurs 27th 13:15 - 13:45 Theatre 2
• From the classroom to the CloudRoom: discover how to make virtual classroom training work with Redtray, Thursday 27th 11:00 - 11:30 Theatre 4 (1st floor)
• An innovative approach to compliance: thinking out of boxes not ticking them with Brightwave Thurs 27th Jan , 11.45am - 12 theatre 4 (ist floor)
• Telling stories using learning technologies with Epic, Thursday 27th,12.00-12.30,theatre: 6 (grd floor)
• Six ways to ensure engagement with your learning program with Certpoint, Thursday 27th 13:30 - 14:00 - Theatre 6 (grd floor)
• Mind the content management gap with Plateau Systems, Thursday 27th 13:30 - 14:00 Theatre 7 (ground floor)
• Emerging from the great recession: trends impacting corporate learning in 2011 ,with Element K Thursday 27th 14.00- 14.30Theatre 5 (ground floor)
• Practical tips for learning design and development with the eLearning Network, Thursday 27th 15:30 - 16:00 Theatre 5 (ground floor)
  

We look forward to seeing you!

Join us for an interactive seminar to discuss how to improve performance with learning technologies:

3 simple steps to accelerate business performance with learning technologies

When it comes to using learning technologies to deliver more for less, smart organisations learn from each other’s experiences to reach their goals faster. Over the last 7 years, Towards Maturity’s independent research programme with 1200 organisations across the private, public and not for profit sectors has identified what actions REALLY influence success.
If you are new to learning technologies or are just stuck in a rut, this session will provide 3 simple steps to help you:
• Increase organisation engagement
• Improve efficiency
• Deliver business performance
• Manage risk
• AND get there faster!

We will be launching our new Benchmark Centre at the event so that organisations can take part in our industry benchmark review when they need to rather than just once a year.

The seminar will be held once on each day so if you can only come for a day, you won't  have to miss it!

Wednesday 26th January 2011
15:45 - 16:15 Theatre 9 (ground floor)
Thursday 26th January 2011
13:15 - 13:45 Theatre 1 (first floor)

Join TM and colleagues on our stand C25 - one of the new catering areas in the show - after the seminars for a free coffee (please bring a copy of this page to get your coffee voucher!)

Laura will also be a panelist at the Brightwave Keynote debate on the 26th of January:

A road map to 2020: How can learning technologies support fast-changing business practice?  

A high-profile panel featuring some of the industry's leading learning tech experts will examine learning and development's capability to support UK PLC's upturn strategy and the crucial role learning technologies can play. The Question Time style debate will also feature live audience voting to further assess mood and expectations.

The debate will focus on what learning and development professionals must do to maximise impact and play a significant strategic role in business development. 

 Wednesday 26th January, 2-3pm   - Theatre 1 (First floor)

How to get there

The show will be at Olympia 2 London and registration is completely free - do join us there!

Making them care

Why is it so important to make learners care about what they’re doing? If learners don’t care, they won’t take notice of what they’re experiencing. If they’re not taking notice, they’re not really learning. If they’re not learning, they won’t action it back in the workplace.

This matters from a business perspective too. If people don’t take the learning on board and apply it, they’ll continue to make the same mistakes or miss the same opportunities. So the business ends up paying for the training and the mistake or missed opportunity, making the training a wasted investment. So it really is in everyone’s interest to put the effort in to making users care about what they’re learning.

Here are my three tips for making them care:

• Create a fresh, surprising, eye-catching design or concept to make users sit up and take notice; use the visual design to help overcome any compliance preconceptions they might have.
• Banish the business speak (it’s not a legal document, textbook or academic paper, after all), keep it conversational, and have fun with the tone of voice and language you use.
• Add some variety in the approaches, interactions and media you use, and give the learner a bit of control over the experience (the use of audio, or the path through the learning, for instance).
  

Showing them it matters

Put yourself in the learners’ shoes. If the e-learning screams ‘compliance’, they’re more likely to view it as something that the organisation is doing to cover its own back – not the best way to get them on board. (For instance, how many learners do you think will really care about the potential reputational damage or a fine that’s unlikely to directly impact them?)

Instead, you’ve got to design something that’s relevant to their life and work and shows them how the compliance issues impact them as individuals. If you want them to see it as more than a tick-box exercise, you’ve got to show them it’s more than a tick-box exercise.

Here are my three tips for showing them it matters:

• Put the learning in context by designing scenarios in which the user has to make decisions or recommendations, drawing on high-profile cases or building in real-life anecdotes and stories.
• Take a tip from the adverts, and put the really useful, surprising, interesting and practical stuff centre-stage; the theoretical explanations need to be there, but keep them in the background.
• Group job roles into risk categories or use a pre-test to identify gaps in knowledge, then point each user to what they specifically need to know (information overload = disengaged learners).
  

Helping them live it

Finally, if an e-learning course is going to translate into changed behaviour and improved performance, it’s got to be effective. You’ve got to give the learners the skills and tools they need to implement the learning back in the workplace.

Again, this benefits both the learners and the business. The user will see the value of what they’re learning, and the business gets evidence not just of compliance but also of competence.

Here are my three tips for helping them live it:

• Actions speak louder than words, so focus on behaviour and competence rather than knowledge and simple compliance – what do people need to do, stop doing, or do differently?
• Ask first, check later: use questions to drive the learning and remember the Goldilocks rule (questions and interactions should be not too hard, not too easy, but just right!).
• Design an ongoing experience, including links to other reference points or learning resources and providing a well-designed crib sheet with key ‘dos and don’ts’ and contact points.

These are just some starting-point suggestions, but if you keep in mind the three user-focused steps (make them care, show them it matters, help them live it) you’ll be well on your way to compliance greatness!

Originally posted on December 5, 2010 by Stephanie Dedhar and reproduced with kind permission.

Stephanie Dedhar won the Institute of IT Training's instructional designer of the year in 2010, you can follow Stephanie on Twitter @stephaniededhar and follow her blog here.

The majority of organisations looking for improvements to the compliance process agree that that technology has helped bring about benefits but to what cost? Often compliance training is the first taste of e-learning for many employees and yet most of the time it can leave them cold.  In November, the ELearning Network held an event to discuss how we can start to innovate our approach to using technology for compliance training in such a way that it achieves results and inspires learners.

A key driver behind 73% of organisation's use of learning technologies is to improve the delivery of compliance learning. @vivcole opened the session with a discussion on why we are seeing more compliance training today. Drivers included the fact that employers are faced with more regulation (and, as a result, litigation) so they like the protection it offers. It can reduce the cost of insurance policies and often clients demand to see policies linked to compliance as part of a procurement process.
As a result in 2010, we are seeing more mandated programmes for staff. In 2010, compliance training takes a variety of forms -  89% of businesses deliver health and safety training to staff, 80% deliver specific compliance programmes that related specifically to that industry, 76% deliver programmes related to corporate social responsibility eg equality, diversity. In all cases over 60% of this learning harnesses technology to support delivery with more compliance training being e-enabled than ever before. (From Accelerating Performance, the Towards Maturity 2010 Benchmark Survey ).

But the push behind compliance training has left a trail of issues that were discussed by the delegates who often felt that it was just a necessary evil delivered not because it was wanted but because it was compulsory. It was often pushed at those who didn't need it( a great example of ground staff working at a financial organisations being made to go through a money laundering course, a critical element of tending the gardens there!). Often it is delivered after the horse has bolted and was perceived to be a tax on high performers to cover up for low performers.

@stephaniededhar flagged the key words most often relating to compliance training - Boring tedious, tick box, wordy, safety, essential! @cliveshepherd talked about the emotions that compliance training can evoke - offensiveness, resentment, stress!

Clearly we have some way to go if we are to rescue the reputation of learning technologies by tackling the subject areas where they are most commonly used.

Here are some hints and tips that we picked up along the way from the presenters to help you turn around the reputation of compliance training in your business:

Creating content that engages

@Stephaniededhar offered 3 top tips for creating content from a user perspective to make it engaging, relevant, effective, memorable, stimulating and targetted effectively (Link to slides).

• Make them care - consider visual design (how can you help them sit up and take notice), tone of voice (avoid remote and pompous jargon - loved by business and hated by users), mix an match approaches (vary how you present content that users can respond to- video, voice mails etc)
• Show them it matters - focus on the results of personal actions, put the anecdote before the theory, tailor experiences according to job roles
• Help them live it - identify what people need to do and then what they need to know, use scenarios not tick boxes in asssessment, give them something to take away

See Stephanie's 3 tips for compliance greatness in more detail here.

Shifting to competency

Compliance topics really do matter, but we need a behaviour change if the learning is actually going to make a difference back in the workplace. @Cliveshepherd offered 5 tips on how to shift from delivering compliance tick boxes to building competency:

• Provide positioning - why are we doing this?
• Present policies and proceedures - what do we need to do?
• Provide worked examples to illustrate application
• Allow for safe practice within the programme
• Then (and only then) - test for knowledge

Most compliance training just present policies and proceedures & then test, it ignores good practices around building effective learning.

Creating a Culture of Compliance

Creating innovative content is only one part of the job, the culture of the organisations towards compliance training also has a significant effect on success. @vivcole discussed the ingredients of a successful culture for compliance learning as considered by compliance officers. @lauraoverton looked at the same issue from the perspective of the Towards Maturity Benchmark work with over 1200 organisations looking at cultural issues that influence successful adoption of learning technologies- there were a number of overlaps worth considering:

Leadership:

• Align learning with important business metrics – legislative scores & breaches
• Align learning with company values and brand ethos
• Measure and report back on how programmes are influencing business metrics and values.
• Leaders need to walk the walk and take part in learning to model that everyone is responsible for compliance
• Provide 'encouragement’ to complete - are there serious, visible consequences of non compliance?

Consider how compliance integrates with the job:

• Include within mandatory induction programmes
• Use diagnostic tools to align learning to job roles
• Encourage regular refreshers
• Consider assessments aligned to job role rather than tick boxes
• The ability of staff to consult the compliance department should be free!
• Consider how to use online content to provide ongoing performance support

Ensuring engagement:

• Use consultation to illustrate how staff have involved in shaping the compliance process and related learning
• Use real people & expert opinion within the programme to ground the learning in the reality of the job

A final word of warning

It was left to @donaldclark to close the day with a final word of warning - some subjects may not benefit from a mandated learning approach - just because we can doesn't mean that we should. He highlighted some insights from some Harvard research highlighting how, in the case of diversity training, it may even make the problem worse (find out more here)

Additional resources

Examples of award winning case studies - http://www.towardsmaturity.org/tag/compliance

 Over the past few years, Towards Maturity have been working closely with Becta to look at promoting effective practices in the workplace and as a result a number of significant contributions have been released to help businesses create make their case and improve performance.

Their contributions have included

• Case studies to illustrate great practices in the workplace and the Delivering results report brining together over 50 case studies that illustrate how technology in learning adds to bottom line business results
• Benchmark studies, allowing an additional 600 organisations to get involved in benchmarking to improve performance
• The Impact study illustrating impact of learning technologies at work
• 33 Reasons why e-learning projects fail - a lesson for us all!
• Video podcasts to share good practices more widely
• Support of Sector Skills Councils and National Skills Academies through workshops and seminars to help embed learning technologies.

Towards Maturity have been proud to work with Becta on this agenda and look forward to continuing to build on this legacy moving forward. 

For those interested in their work in further education and schools, the download below is their latest newsletter updating stakeholders on the areas in which their work will be continued.

Checklist for organisations engaging young adults in their workplace e-learning through apprenticeship schemes or workplacements. 

 Organisations have both legal and statutory duties to safeguard the welfare of all learners when making use of ICT.  There are a variety of legal issues to consider within the e-safety context, including cyber-bullying; harassment; defamation; hosting liability and data protection.

If you are developing and distributing digital course content and services that communicate over social networks, email, SMS, instant messaging and other Web 2.0 tools, you have an important role to play to consider online safety issues and prevent misuse, particularly if your learners are under 18.

88% of organisations taking part in the 2010 Towards Maturity benchmark offer e-learning for general IT user skills, including web and internet skills . Many already include e-safety awareness in the programme content but if you don’t we hope this resource will help you get started. But we are not always teaching adults - 38% are also providing e-learning through their apprenticeship schemes.

This HOW TO draws on established guidance from Becta, JISC and others to provide an  employer friendly e-safety checklist and links to resources on internet safety issues.

This HOW TO is aimed at those who are teaching younger people on apprenticeship and work experience schemes and need a straightforward guide to the legal and policy environment for safeguarding learners online.

The following checklist is not intended to be prescriptive or to give a complete guide to the current legal framework, but may help you develop your organisational e-safety policy and therefore enhance the e-safety of your learners. We’ve also included useful resources at the end of the list for you to find out more.

It includes support to help you

• Review your organisation's e-safety awareness
• Review your current guidelines and policy
• Considerations for IT systems and learner resources
• Useful links (further advice)
• Useful learning resources and courses
• Relevant legistlation

At some point in time, most organisations turn to external experts for an extra helping hand but how can we make sure we are getting value for money?

The Towards Maturity Benchmark 2010 revealed that over 60% of organisations found that lack of knowledge about the potential use of learning technologies was a real barrier to implementation. Some of this knowledge gap can be addressed through formal learning or via our networks but often organisations may need to turn to external experts to provide an additional helping hand.

This HOW TO provides  a checklist of ideas and guidelines that can be used to select and work with external experts.

This HOW TO is aimed at L&D professionals who are implementing learning technologies in the business but who don’t have all the necessary expertise – or time - in-house.

The HOW TO covers:

• What should we be looking for when selecting an external expert?
• Are we ready?
• How do we identify the right person/organisation to work with?
• How can we control costs?
• How do we build confidence in the results?

LONDON, 30 November 2010: Towards Maturity, the internationally recognised benchmarking practice for learning innovation, has launched a new programme designed for provider companies of learning products and services focused on excellence and growth.

The Ambassador Programme complements Towards Maturity’s work with learning practitioners, as the producers of Europe’s leading independent Benchmark Study into the impact of learning innovation on business performance. This new programme will allow providers, through supporting the study, to help with the identification and dissemination of good practice case studies, and to align themselves with Towards Maturity’s vision and values; benefiting from enhanced industry profile and credibility with clients and potential clients.

Eight leading companies are already on board as Founder Ambassadors:

• Brightwave
• Epic
• GlobalEnglish
• LINE Communications
• LMMatters
• Plateau Systems
• Redtray
• The Charity Learning Consortium
  

Many others are in active discussions. Membership of the programme is lon an annually renewable basis. In return for their support of the ongoing independent Benchmark Survey, Ambassadors can customize flexible packages of benefits to meet their own corporate goals. 

All Ambassadors share and endorse the following Towards Maturity vision and values:

• Encouraging learning innovation that directly impacts results in the workplace
• Building on, acknowledging and contributing to collective good practice
• Supporting the learning and education of others
• Building transparent, trusted and open relationships with those we work with
• Encouraging excellence from within
• Celebrating success

Charles Gould, Brightwave’s managing director said: ‘We are delighted to become a Founding Ambassador for an organisation whose values chime so well with our own in the pursuit of raising the bar for learning innovation, best practice and business impact’. 

Steve Ash, Sales and Marketing Director of LINE Communications, said: ‘LINE has an ongoing commitment to help our clients become more efficient and competitive by delivering innovative learning and communications solutions. We are proud to be Founding Ambassadors for a programme which provides such compelling evidence of the impact our industry continues to make.

Martin Baker, MD of both LMMatters and the Charity Learning Consortium said: ‘I think that collaboration will be the buzz word of the next decade, not just in learning and development, but in the business world as a whole. Personally, I’m delighted to see more co-operation in the e-learning industry – and the Ambassador Programme is a great example of where, through both LMMatters and the Charity Learning Consortium, we can make a real difference, by supporting Towards Maturity and the invaluable work that it does’.

Laura Overton, Towards Maturity’s managing director said: ‘When it comes to learning innovation and performance our passion has always been to provide an authoritative, independent research base which helps organisations to raise the bar in their pursuit of excellence. Working together as Ambassadors for change, I believe we can improve good practice, raise awareness and drive the industry forward’.

Towards Maturity released its 4th Benchmark Report, titled ‘Accelerating Performance’, on 25th November 2010. The full Report contains a wealth of data on many areas of learning innovation and practice and is available for free download at www.towardsmaturity.org/2010benchmark.

Learning Providers interested in finding out more about the Ambassador Programme should contact Nigel Stally of Towards Maturity at nigel@towardsmaturity.org.

Notes to Editors

About Towards Maturity

Toward Maturity’s not for profit benchmark practice provides independent expert advice and support in using learning innovation to accelerate business performance. Towards Maturity leverages the wealth of data provided by its benchmark, an internationally recognised longitudinal study based on the inputs of 1200 organisations and 3000 learners over 7 years. Benchmark findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free at the Towards Maturity website.
http://www.towardsmaturity.org/

2010 Towards Maturity Benchmark <http://www.towardsmaturity.org/2010benchmark>
Follow Towards Maturity on Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/towardsmaturity>

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The hostile economic climate has, paradoxically, opened up huge opportunities for learning innovation to contribute to bottom line business performance. The L&D profession stands at a pivotal moment: it is armed with new opportunities to innovate and a market-place being forced to consider change; yet it also has a poor track record and perceptions as a cost centre, not a wealth creator. 1,200 organisations have now taken part in the Towards Maturity’s industry leading benchmark and as a result we now know more about how to drive the transformation of learning than ever before. We can’t afford to wait, it’s time to act.

The full results of the latest Towards Maturity Benchmark were unveiled and discussed at the Learning and Skills Group webinar on 25 November.

Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity, delivered the webinar and explored:

• How the last 18 months has changed the face of learning and development
• Responding to demand – why we can’t afford to hold back
• How to significantly improve efficiency, take up and business agility
• Practical lessons that accelerate performance
• How to benchmark against the top performers

Missed the webinar?
If you are a member of the Learning and Skills Group, the recording, the text chat and the PDF of the slides are all available on the webinar archive.

About Towards Maturity
Toward Maturity’s not for profit benchmark practice provides independent expert advice and support in using learning innovation to accelerate business performance. Towards Maturity leverages the wealth of data provided by its benchmark, an internationally recognised longitudinal study based on the inputs of 1200 organisations and 3000 learners over 7 years. Benchmark findings, case studies and resources are available to download for free on site.
http://www.towardsmaturity.org/

About Learning and Skills Group
The Learning and Skills Group (LSG) is an international community of learning and development professionals interested in organisational learning and the application of learning technology in the workplace. Membership provides online resources, collaborative tools and knowledge sharing opportunities. As the professional membership arm of the annual Learning Technologies and Learning and Skills conferences, the LSG enables interaction with L&D professionals and conference delegates, throughout the year.

About Learning Technologies 2011, 26 and 27 January 2011, Olympia 2, London
The Learning Technologies Exhibition and Conference is Europe's leading showcase of the technology used for learning at work and provides a wealth of content from the leading exhibitors in the field and a free seminar programme running in five theatres in the exhibition hall. The conference, running alongside the exhibition has expert sessions on learning technology, strategy and the issues facing L&D from some of the leading learning thinkers and visionaries in the industry.

http://www.learningtechnologies.co.uk/

About Learning and Skills 2011, 26 and 27 January 2011, Olympia 2, London
Learning and Skills 2011 is co-located with the Learning Technologies Exhibition and Conference. The Learning and Skills exhibition showcases the entire spectrum of methods, products and services for workplace learning with a focus on people development, learning and performance, learning resources and HR systems and services and is built around a multi-streamed programme of free seminars in four theatres on the exhibition floor.

http://www.learningandskillsevents.com/
 

We would like to congratulate everyone who picked up an award at the glittering 2010 Elearning award ceremony last night.

The standard this year has been amazing & the winners really showcase excellence and act as an inspiration to us all. Congratulations to everyone! 

Check out the E-Learning Award website for judges citations and pictures but here are the winners ( plus some initial information and demos for those looking for new ideas or are just nosy!)

Meeting the needs of compliance for an external regulator or an internal workforce

• GOLD: PricewaterhouseCoopers UK and Brightwave
• SILVER: Atlas Interactive -Find out about the project MIST
• BRONZE: SAI Global/AstraZeneca 
   

(Also shortlisted  ThirdForce, essential.genius,Inmarkets and UBS)

The best use of mobile learning

• GOLD: Learnosity - check out this demo

(Also shorlisted LINE Communications, ispeakuspeak) 

 

The best use of rapid e-learning content

• GOLD :Bupa Health and Wellbeing UK and Brightwave
• SILVER: Everything Everywhere
• BRONZE: ispeakuspeak
  

(Also shorlisted O2 and Kineo)
 

The best learning game, simulation or virtual environment

• GOLD: Parliament’s Education Service and Lightbox Education  - check out MP for a Week
• SILVER: St George's, University of London
• BRONZE: Market Class

(Also shortlisted - CA Technologies) 

 

The best use of social media for learning

• GOLD: The Open University
• SILVER:GradeGuru, from McGraw-Hill 
   

The most innovative new product or tool in e-learning

• GOLD: MyWorkSearch - integrating learning and application - find out more
• SILVER: AiSolve - 3D environments for learning trade skills - take a look at how it works for plumbing (1 or 2 mins into video)
• BRONZE:TAG Developments

(Also shortlisted Gilead Europe and TRiBECA Knowledge ,Rustici Software and SkillSoft)
 

The best e-learning project securing widespread adoption

• GOLD :SIVECO Romania - The Romanian IT-Based education system
• SILVER: GlobalEnglish and ArcelorMittal - find out more
• BRONZE: e-Learning for Healthcare: e-Learning Anaesthesia - find out more
  

(Also shortlisted CA Technologies, Department of Health ,Gloucester Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and e2train and The National Strategies)
 

Excellence in the production of learning content – Not for Profit Sector

• GOLD One Plus One and Nelson Croom

(Also shortlisted - Olympic Delivery Authority  and Social Care Institute for Excellence)
 

Excellence in the production of learning content – Public Sector

• GOLD: Gloucester Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and e2train - find out more
• SILVER: e-Learning for Healthcare: e-GP - find out more
• BRONZE Screenmedia: The Big Plus – Get Ready for Work

(Alson shortlisted: e-Learning for Healthcare: Adolescent Healthcare, iCollege, National Defense University and Making IT Personal: Joining the DOTs - Barnsley Council, Sheffield College, Sero Consulting and others)
 

Excellence in the production of learning content – Private Sector

• GOLD:Epic and British Airways - find out more
• GOLD: Marks and Spencer and Kineo - find out more
• SILVER:Autonomy e-learning
  

(Also shortlisted Boots UK , Hibernia College, Infosys Technologies, Saffron Interactive and Heathrow Express and The Fifth Business)
 

 The best use of synchronous e-learning

• GOLD Hibernia College
  

(Also shortlisted Englishtown and Learning Tree International)

The best online or distance learning programme – Not for Profit

• GOLD: IMC (UK) Learning and the Fire Service College - find out more

(Also shortlisted Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Walkgrove)
 

The best online or distance learning programme – Corporate Learning

•  GOLD: Infinity Learning and British American Tobacco

(Also shortlisted Executive Conversation,ILX Group and KCA Deutag Drilling Group)
 

The best online or distance learning programme – Education

• GOLD: University of Edinburgh and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 
• SILVER: Englishtown
• BRONZE:Hibernia College
  

(Also shortlisted Lightbox Education and Centre for Educational Leadership (CEL) with National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Service)

 E-learning development company of the year

• GOLD: Nelson Croom - find out more
• SILVEREdvantage Group - login to see examples or check out demo
  

(Also shortlisted: Axia Interactive Media ,GlobalEnglish Corporation, Kineo, Learning Pool,Marton House and Safety Media)
 

E-learning industry award for outstanding achievement – individual

•  GOLD WINNER: Mark Harrison - Kineo - find out more about Mark's work on LinkedIn
  

(Also shortlisted: Mike Alcock - Kaplan IT Learning, Adrian Birch - Jaguar Land Rover, Sean Rowland - Hibernia College, Julian Stodd - Marton House)
 

E-learning industry award for outstanding achievement – corporate

• GOLD: Fusion Universal - find out more

(Also Shortlisted: Hibernia College and Redware)

E-learning internal project team of the year - Private Sector

• GOLD: Home Retail Group
  

(Also shortlisted Lloyd's Register and Telefonica O2 UK)
 

E-learning internal project team of the year - Public Sector

• GOLD : Capita National Strategies
  

(Also shortlisted Lincolnshire County Council and St George's, University of London )

 Our existing ideas need to be challenged and we need to be open to new approaches  and that is one of the reasons I am so pleased to be involved in the steering board of Online Educa Berlin which is now in it's sixteenth year!  

OEB is unique in its focus on bringing individuals together from the corporate, pubic and education sectors to Every year over 2000 participants from more than 90 countries world-wide come together, making it the most comprehensive annual meeting place for technology-supported learning and training professionals in Europe.

It has always provided rich networking opportunities but in 2010, it is creating a really special networking and learning opportunity for those who are working in business:

New for 2010 - Business educa

Senior business managers don’t want learning, they want results. Business EDUCA focuses on achieving organisational results through collaborative intelligence and learning. OEB designed Business EDUCA for organisations large and small, non-profit and bottom-line driven. Network with peers, and solve problems cooperatively. Business EDUCA is about getting things done in organisations. It’s not academic. It draws from practice, innovation and research and focuses on outputs rather than inputs.

Business EDUCA provides the opportunity to explore, discuss, debate the latest issues facing organisations today. The sessions allocate time to collaborate with colleagues both on line and in person to create a programme unique tailored for each participant.

Subjects to be discussed include

• Improving business impact with mobile learning
• Improving performance in health
• Innovative approaches to boosting sales and customer loyalty
• The 21st century learning professional
• Working smarter with learning networks
• Coping with the crunch - how can we REALLY deliver more with less
• & much more!!

Business Educa provides an amazing opportunity to connect with those who most of us normally only follow on Twitter  (see below for some of the amazing speakers).

 Naturally we will be covering the hot topics on the TM site but it isn't the same as being there yourself - try as we might we can't magic up the atmosphere of Berlin at christmas time!

Do let us know if you are coming - we'd love you to join us!

FIND OUT MORE

REGISTER here

Who will you meet?

Doug Beckwith, University of Phoenix, USA, Josh Bersin, Bersin & Associates, USA, Debbie Carter, TJ (formerly Training Journal), UK, Jay Cross & other members of the Internet Time Alliance, USA, Bert De Coutere, IBM, Belgium ,Jane Hart, Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies (C4LPT), UK,Cynan Houghton, Oxfam GB, UK,Jenny Hunt, Schemeta, UK ( behind the great elearning readiness toolkit for the NHS), Charles Jennings, Duntroon Associates Ltd, UK, Sarah Lindsell, PricewaterhouseCoopers, UK,Svetlana Omeltchenko, British American Tobacco, UK,Joe Pokropski, Thomson Reuters, USA, Lesley Price, Becta, UK, David Rome, NHS Education for Scotland, UK,Gwendolin Rugen, Telefonica O2 Germany, Richard Straub, European Learning Industry Group (ELIG), France,Donald Taylor, Institute of IT Training, UK,Nick van Dam, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, The Netherlands, Erica Wadley, Microsoft, USA

Plus over 300 other speakers to inspire innovation in your organisation

So how do others manage it?

Well, Jane Hart at the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies has been talking to 545 learning professionals across the globe to find out their top tools for learning & has compiled the list in her fabulous Top 100 tools for learning for 2010.

This list was compiled on the 17th of October this year and whilst it reflects the tools most likely to be used by the technically savvy L&D professionals it provides a fantastic starting point for many.

As an added bonus 77% of the tools in this list are free!

The top 10 for 2010 are:

• Twitter, Microblogging tool
• YouTube, Video sharing site
• Google Docs, Office collaboration suite
• Delicious, Social bookmarking tool
• Slideshare, Hosting presentations
• Skype,Instant messaging/VoIP
• Google Reader,RSS / Feed reader
• Wordpress,Blogging tool
• Facebook,Social networking site
• Moodle,Course mgt system

As we start to use these tools ourselves, our confidence in using them to support others increases so do check out Jane's list and try something different today!

Technology opens up new systems, communication platforms and distribution channels for learning and collaboration that can significantly enhance the learning professional’s toolkit. 

Today’s promises of technology include:

• Be more responsive to changing business needs
• Get staff up & running  (& changing direction) faster than ever before
• Extend reach, breadth and depth of learning offering
• Whilst saving time  & money

According to the CIPD, e-learning is the fastest growing learning intervention in 2010 but only 12% rate it as effective. On the other hand, our own benchmarks flag up that some (but not all!) are finding that it helps to improve responsiveness to changing business needs, delivers better quality, faster induction processes.  The promise is within reach but how do we deliver ( and deliver it faster)?

How to accelerate the promise was discussed at WOLCE 2010 this year at a a free seminar where we considered some facts and figures from our research over the years to look at what we need to improve (& to dispell a few myths that could be holding us back!)

You can download the notes from the presentation below.

You will need to register to download these notes.

Martyn Sloman, their principal consultant to the project has written a free e-book that looks at 9 principles to guide the L&D practitioner in the future. This new publication introduces nine, principles to guide the L&D practitioner.

• Trust your judgement
• Understand the difference between training and learning
• Disregard anything that was written in the last century
• Distinguish between context and processes and seek to understand both
• L&D builds organisational benefits through higher value products and services
• Value lies in the eye of the beholder
• Try to develop the learning culture
• Different interventions have different strengths and weaknesses
• L&D is a craft activity which takes place in context

These principles are not necessarily new but our own research shows that they are definitely not widely acted on. However, those that take action in these areas actually deliver improved results to the business.

Towards Maturity have looked at implementation practices and L&D attitudes  in over 1200 organisations in the past 6 years and have found that those that take action in 6 areas ( which map to many of Sloman's principles) are starting to deliver new types of learning offerings & report that they are getting more business buy in and deliver more business agility, more efficiently. Those sticking with traditional approaches are just not making the same impact in today's business world.

We completely agree with Sloman that transformation in L&D is not dependent on the application of specific models but transformation will only come when the profession starts to take an active interest in wanting to change.

We hope that this book will help increase confidence and encourage that change for many L&D professionals!

The ebook is available free of charge* as a downloadable pdf here and you can find out more about the L&D 2020 project here.

*The Nick Webber Trust  was set up in memory of Nick Webber, who died in a car accident at the age of 28 while working in Malawi as a volunteer lawyer. Nick was a friend of one of Martyn Sloman’s sons and it is asked that those who download this ebook consider making a donation to the charity. To donate please visit: www.justgiving.com/Martyn-Sloman2010ebook.

  
A couple of years ago I realised something important was missing from my chosen profession – a qualification for L&D professionals on par with other postgraduate qualifications and most importantly one that aligns L&D as a profession and practice with the needs of organisations, rather than just the needs of the learner.

In the New Year of 2008 I was thinking what might be the next step in my professional development. I decided that one option for me, as an experienced L&D professional would, be to undertake a postgraduate qualification allied to my consulting and managerial role. I was looking for a qualification that would bridge the tangible divide that I firmly believe exists between L&D from the perspective of a practitioner and the need to bring learning in to the heart of organisational transformation.

What qualifications currently exist for L&D professionals? 

A thorough search on the Internet revealed that a wealth of postgraduate and professional qualifications exist for those in the compulsory and further education sectors, including the familiar; PTLLS, CTLLS and DTLLS, as various forms of Professional and Postgraduate Certificates in Education, M.Ed and of course Ph.D/Ed.D doctorial research programmes. These qualifications are already recognised by the Institute for Learning (IfL) and variously lead to Qualified Teacher Learning & Skills or Qualified Associated Teacher Learning & Skills status.

Those of who have taken PTLLS or aligned qualification will be aware that it’s very much centred on the needs of the learner, and teaches concepts that are important in the further education sector, such as inclusion, diversity, functional skills, differentiation and so on. For the L&D practitioner working in modern business it is no longer sufficient to be a thoroughly confident and competent trainer; in order to be valued and recognised L&D practitioners must show tangible business value in what they deliver and the tangible impact of learning outcomes against organisational objectives.

A quick scan of the leading offerings for L&D professionals in the private sector revealed the following well-known qualifications (among others):

• The CIPD Certificate in L&D Practice mapped to Qualification and Credit Framework (NVQ/QCF), at level 3. CIPD recognise this qualification for associate membership.
• IITT have done sterling work in embracing the QCF assessment criteria in their Trainer Performance Monitoring and Assessment Programme (TPMA) that leads to the Institute Certified Training Practitioner certificate (ICTP). The qualification draws from the syllabus of the PTLLS programme mapped to QCF at level 4. IITT recognise the qualification for associate membership.
• The Training Foundation (a private training provider) offer the Trainer Assessment Programme (TAP), again a mature and respected offering, that can with substantial additional study and assessment lead to a foundation degree awarded by Chester University (FHEQ level 5 equivalent to QCF level 5). TAP is recognised by both IITT and BILD for membership.

These qualifications are all mature and respected, albeit that they are not aimed at the very senior, consulting or managerial L&D professional in the private sector. After reviewing what is available in the market I still felt there was a clear gap at the top end of the L&D profession for a postgraduate qualification with a modern business oriented focus especially one that included technology based learning and informal/social learning within the syllabus.

A new qualification to fill the gap for senior professionals

During my search I came across an Advanced Diploma in L&D offered by the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education (ICE).  I quickly sent off an email to the university enquiring as to how I might enrol and just as quickly received a reply advising me that the qualification had been withdrawn pending a review and potential redesign. Never having been one to take no for an answer I wrote back, with a copy of my CV, offering to contribute to the redesign. Soon after I was on my way to Cambridge for an initial meeting at the ICE’s magnificent venue, Madingley Hall.

That was the start of a long road leading to the recent announcement of the University of Cambridge’s Postgraduate Diploma in Training, Learning and Development studies at masters level (FHEQ level 7 equivalent to QCF Level 7) aimed at senior L&D practitioners who are seeking a flexible, primarily distance learning qualification from a world-class university.

Fast-forward two and a half years during which the University of Cambridge marked its 800th year since foundation and my wife and I had our first child. Reflecting on my experiences during the design and development of the programme over the past two and a half years, I realise that the qualification now goes a very long way to filling the gap that I identified back in early 2008.

The design and development of this new qualification has throughout involved a number of L&D professionals from industry, and received the endorsement of IITT early in the process, ensuring that the qualification is rooted in the latest theory and practice in Learning & Development.

The practicalities
 
The programme is designed to be completed in either 2 or 3 years, and is conducted via a blended learning approach; each course includes a residential weekend at Madingley Hall followed by a 10 week online study period.

As one would expect from the University of Cambridge, the teaching staff assigned to this programme are academic leaders in their field, and will be complimented by guest speakers from the public and private sector who are also leaders in their respective L&D organisations.

My own employer has already committed to provide appropriate case studies, sample materials and guest speakers to the programme.

The programme curriculum comprises six courses that may be studied independently if desired. The postgraduate diploma will be awarded upon passing the assessments associated with each of the six courses.

The residential components are held at Madingley Hall, at stunning 14th Century Hall on the outskirts of Cambridge. The hall has excellent and modern residential facilities and provides an environment conducive to collaborative learning away from the pressures of work.

Throughout the programme students have access to the resources of the University of Cambridge, including ICE’s online classrooms and virtual learning environment.

In my opinion if the programme lacks anything at this time, it is adoption by the other relevant professional bodies in the L&D profession for either full professional membership or fellowship. I have confidence that the University of Cambridge’s brand, combined with the excellent teaching programme, will encourage the CIPD and the Institute for Learning to formally endorse the qualification in due course as IITT have already led the way.

The first intake of students will start the programme in January 2011, and I wish them every success in achieving what will be a stellar L&D qualification, blending the best of academic theory with pragmatic, business experience.

 More details

The qualification offers:

• Postgraduate qualification (120 Credits at Masters Level)
• Access to the resources of a world-class university
• Leading contributors from academia and industry
• Collaboration with fellow students across the L&D profession

The IITT recognise this qualification , all students awarded the qualification will be instantly eligible for their IITT fellowship.

For links to additional programmes for L&D professionals click here.

Internet adoption in increasing at a staggering pace and a national collective confidence is growing in the use of a communication medium that was relatively unknown less than a decade ago. This has to be good news for those looking to bring the benefits of the internet to workplace learning. 
When employees are already using the web to browse for ideas on how to improve their home, connect with fellow enthusiasts around their favourite hobby or share photos or ideas with friends, it shouldn’t be such a great leap to start to use the web to search, learn, connect and share to build performance in the workplace. I am not denying that it is a challenge to make that leap but the majority of our audience has at least overcome the first hurdle of getting involved in new ways of communicating, even if it is outside of work.

However there are over 10 million of the UK’s residents who have never used the web. Unsurprisingly, the government are very interested in this as it impacts social mobility, unemployment and the extent to which they can migrate to providing services online. As a result they have invested £30 million to address the issue through programmes such as Race Online 2012. The more society can operate online, the more benefits we have for individuals, families and the economy as a whole, for example did you know that research shows that :

• People with good ICT skills earn between 3% and 10% more than people without them.
• If every non internet user in employment got online, each of them would increase their earnings by an average of over £8,300 in their lifetime and deliver between £560 million and £1,680 million of overall economic benefit
• The cost to business (or government) for engaging with customers shows that it can cost  £18 for a face to face interaction , £3.30 by phone, £12.10 by letter  but only 8p online.

Poor ICT skills are still a  barrier to successful e-learning adoption!

But if a  fifth of the UK’s population has never been online, what is the knock on effect for those of us who work in learning and development? It’s true that a significant proportion of the 10 million are unlikely to be in our current audience – for example the, the unemployed or retired. But when e-learning is the fastest growing training medium for UK corporates  and learning technologies are  increasingly being used for company wide initiatives such as induction, compliance and collaborative performance improvement , this statistic must start to take effect on the uptake & success of our work.
We are seeing evidence of that already- over the past 6 years, through our Towards Maturity Benchmark we’ve been tracking the barriers to e-learning adoption and whilst poor ICT skills for staff has never really made it into the top 3 barriers to adoption, it is a factor that still contributes .18% of organisations participating in our 2010 benchmark citing poor ict skills amongst top barriers to successful e-learning adoption.

On the other hand overall reluctance by users to learn with new technology is one of the top barriers - a lack of confidence in the very basics of using technology may contribute to that reluctance.  When a number of staff have never had an email account , opened a web browser or even used a mouse- they are likely to be highly skeptical about learning new skills online! So what can we do about that?

Getting staff to first base

When it comes to supporting general IT and web user skills, our latest benchmark  shows that over 80% of us provide staff with training (including email and internet safety)  and most of them are using e-learning to help with the delivery. But is this enough to encourage reluctant first time users to get online & experience the web for themselves? Probably not

Government research shows a number of reasons why people don’t get online - 59% of  just people don’t see a reason to an a quarter of people say that they just don’t have the skills.  I don’t think that these statistics can be ignored in business and given the need to keep skills up to date and the investment we are currently making in learning technologies to achieve our goals. Maybe it’s time that we revisit how we can encourage staff to get online for the first time.
4 areas to address

One of our challenges in getting staff on line for the first time is that we can’t really use the web which means that we need to think about other ways of engaging with staff. There are probably 4 areas that need to be considered as we approach the challenge – how do we improve staff confidence in using the web? What do we need to do to address staff motivation? How can we get other staff to help and support? how can we increase access to technology?

The high profile of the government agenda to help get 10 million people online has resulted in a number of initiatives  that provide ideas and resources that can be shamelessly plagiarised to support business!

At the end of this article, there are some links to some of the more high profile initiatives that you can tap into but we have also produced a simple checklist of ideas that can be introduced in the workplace  . Here are just a few ideas from that list to help you get started:

Improving staff confidence

• If online confidence is to improve we need to be able to engage staff, refer them to resources that can really help them and support them on their journey.  There is a certain amount that the L&D department can do by itself
• Run regular lunchtime sessions for a season that will allow staff to be open about their needs and explore the opportunities of the web.
• Don’t take on all the responsibility on yourself - who else is connecting your staff? who is trusted and shares your vision?- Union learning reps are a great example , if they haven’t already got a programme in place, work together to provide local advocates with basic coaching skills resources to help them engage with staff..

Improving motivation

Providing relevant  incentives can really contribute to staff motivation

• for new staff who may not be computer users, why not build links to supporting resources  into your job offer letters?
• Once on board, build free resources & available support into your induction 
• Recognition of achievements is a powerful motivator – City & Guilds provide an Award in Online basics for £6 which can be used as credit towards Foundation Learning or ITQ qualifications
    

How can we get others involved?

Poor basic online confidence doesn’t just impact the learning & Development department, it has a knock on effect throughout business . It isn’t an agenda to tackle alone- why not

• Engage with snr execs, PR and marketing to launch internal awareness campaign
• Create an information kit for line managers so they know where to point people to
• Leverage opportunity of national campaigns, for example why not use the National Get Online Week in October to focus attention internally on the issue – see box out for more ideas

Improving access

Get creative about improving awareness about where staff can to access the internet – if they can’t access it at work, help them to find alternatives such as uk online centers  or public libraries. Does your company recycle and refurbish old IT – is it possible for staff with no access to take advantage of that scheme?

The current resources from programmes like Pass IT on will be tremendously useful for those in L&D looking to build basic online skills in the workplace. I am also an advocate of using really great e-learning content as a means of  engaging staff to go online and have written about this several times in this magazine. For example we covered a story a while back that looked at how a facilitated online programme on parenting not only helped to address the participants parenting skills but also introduced computers for the first time and led to many wanting to improve their computer skills. Perhaps that is one area where our government can leverage the skills and expertise from the L&D professionals !

Get involved nationally

Race Online 2012

Race Online 2012 is the national challenge to bring people and organisations together to to make the UK the first nation in the world where everyone can use the web. Championed by Martha Lane Fox, the UK digital champion, Race Online 2012  are looking for partners who will pledge to get active in getting individuals online and have plenty of research and resources to help. http://raceonline2012.org/.

Pass IT On

This site a range of free resources to help individuals get someone started online. The whole idea is to get someone interested, introduce them to a computer and then help them build their online basic skills. Pass IT On resources can be used by staff to help each other, their family members, customers and wider community to get online. Lots of free marketing collateral and toolkits at www.helppassiton.co.uk/

UK Online

UK online have over 3,500 centres in the UK where individuals can go to get support in getting online – they also have developed a range of free online basics courses which can be used by advocates as part of an internal campaign to get staff online.

www.ukonlinecentres.com

National Get Online Week – 18 – 24 October

National Get online week takes place between 18 and 24 October, and aims to give anyone and everyone the chance to get started with computers and the internet.  More than 3,000 local events will be taking place across the country.  If you want to get involved then contact www.ukonlinecentres.com/getonlineweek to find out more details

When used effectively, digital learning resources have the power to engage and stimulate learners and to contribute greatly to learning achievement. It is not possibly to specify exactly what makes a ‘good quality’ learning resource, because so much depends on the type of the resource (tutorial, simulation, game, podcast, screencast, video, presentation, text document, etc.), the purpose of the resource, the way in which the resource is used and the characteristics of the particular users. As ever quality is an issue of ‘fitness for purpose’ - sometimes the simplest of content does the job perfectly; at other times a highly-sophisticated resource is required to satisfy the need. Given these provisos, this HOW TO  provides a checklist that will both support L&D professionals in evaluating existing resources and guide content developers in the design of future resources.

The checklist has been developed over many years of consultation in both the private and public sector and has been regularly refined  through activities such as Towards Maturity’s direct research with employers and awards programmes looking at content excellence ( specifically, the elearning  awards in conjunction with the eLearning Network and  the BETT Awards, originally in conjunction with Becta)

This HOW TO is aimed at those looking to develop or purchase digital learning content for the workplace.  

Acknowledgements

This checklist has been adapted by Clive Shepherd, chair of the eLearning Network on behalf of Towards Maturity from guidelines originally produced by Becta.

NB please login or register to download this free resource.

Reason 1 -  several of the organisations that we have featured here on the TM site will be presenting at the conference so we are certainly looking forward to hearing the next instalment of the stories from:

• Mike Booth , Cable & Wireless– who is speaking on More learning, less time, money & resource - achieving this through technology (29th )
• Jan Cowie, The Priory Group  speaking on Developing the skills to deliver effective online learning (28th)
• Nick Shackleton-Jones, BBC debating the use of social media in learning ( together with Clive Shepherd & Robin Hoyle)

Reason 2 - Towards Maturity will also be at the event with Laura Overton helping organisations to use our extensive research base to help them:

• Ensure behavioural change in learners (session as part of the main conference on 29th)
• Learning technology at work – debunking the myths and accelerating the promise (free seminar 10.30 29th)

Reason 3  - The exhibition is free to attend with 100+ organisations and there are over 20 excellent free seminars including some from our Community of Excellence:

• Piers Lea from Line Communications  -  Results, results, results! Blended learning successes from across Europe (15.30, 28th)
• Martin Belton -e2train - 10 rules for designing and delivering e-learning (10.30, 28th)

Reason 4  - Save up to 30% if you book before 27th August plus all paying conference delegates Free access to LM Matters’ 50 Lessons & Harvard ManageMentor plus a FREE Toshiba ultra-compact HD camcorder.

Venue - NEC, Birmingham B40 1NT
Dates 28th & 29th September
Cost – exhibition & seminar programme – free, conference fees

Find out more at - http://www.learnevents.com/index.php

IITT members can attend the seminar and exhibition for free on the 7th from 1pm. The full conference starts on the 8th of September.

Find out more here: http://www.iitt.org.uk/

Programme highlights include:

• Bob Mosher – Chief Learning Evangelist at Learning Guide. Bob has been in the IT training field for years and was previously director of learning strategy at Microsoft. I have heard him several times now and his practical insights on learning, performance and making this stuff work at work really make sense!
• 2 parallel tracks on  Leading learning  - including Paul Jagger from IBM ( leading by example, you can hear more here !)  and Delivering learning – including Clive Shepherd on the New Blended learning, Nick Shackleton Jones  and Julie Wedgewood  – all of whom have been active contributors to the TM site!
• Plus hands on workshops for those developing learning.

Venue : LONDON MARRIOTT GROSVENOR SQUARE, LONDON W1K 6JP

Cost:  £425 +vat for members and £495 +vat for non members

Places are still available  - click here to book.

 You can see the slide deck here but this is a summary of the discussions that took place on the day!

  7 challenges facing BILD members today:

• We need to deliver more learning with less resources?
• We need to respond faster to the business that is changing around us?
• We  need to prove that we are relevant to business today if we are to grab their attention
• We need to become more evidence based
• We need to re-evaluate the metrics we use for talent managment and learning
• We need to meet changing learner expectations
• We need to be seen as a vehicle for change and not a cost centre

We discusssed the role of technology enabled learning as a means of supporting these challenges  - does technology add to the pressure that L&D are under or reduce it? The view was that once we learn how to embrace new ways of learning, the opportunities for change are released, equiping L&D staff to engage with business in new ways. The following areas were highlighted to build good practice

7 areas identified to support change

• Get involved in benchmarking but do not benchmark against movable technology trends, instead look at impact.
• Harnessing technology in a more meaningful way - sharing examples 
• Buidling credible conversations with management - learning to research the business challenges and ask meaningful questions.
• Improving performance consulting ability to engage with business more meaningfully
• Developing quick wins within the business
• Work with the business to develop a few meaningful metrics & just focus on those
• Use the TM best practice benchmarks to identify current areas of weakness and focus on those.

Other TM highlights from the BILD event included:

Immersive learning and serious games

We’ve previously featured research and articles on Immersive Learning and the use of games and virtual worlds in learning, and David Wortley, Serious Games Institute, provided further examples of how such technologies are being applied to many diverse areas of L&D. The example shown of ‘Physical Simulation’ was so life-like as to be somewhat unnerving! Technology is changing learners and David provide strong evidence on new ways of learning, new devices and new challenges. As he concluded – ‘Learning is being transformed from a transfer of existing knowledge by experts into a facilitated, self-directed discovery of new knowledge in collaboration with our peers.’ While David focused on what can be done today, Alan Fletcher , OU, took the audience through a whistle stop tour of what is possible. It is clear that the Knowledge Media Institute at the OU is involved in some extremely exciting research and it’s certainly worth taking a look at their website (www.kmi.open.ac.uk) to understand more about social semantics, virtual presence, ontologies, reasoning and Web 3.0!

Mobile learning

Geoff Stead, Tribal Group provided insight on how mobile learning is coming of age, sharing examples. Refreshingly his session recognised some of the inevitable compromises that have to be made in developing and distributing mobile content. It’s certainly worth taking a look at the MoLeNet (http://www.molenet.org.uk/) website for further insight on many of the current mobile learning projects that are underway. Interestingly Geoff sates that he’s still unsure if mobile learning can work if it’s unsupported, and our belief is that any learning using technology needs to be supported to maximise the benefits. Brian Bishop, Caspian Learning, used the Gartner Group ‘Hype Cycle’ to frame his presentation as he explored the emergence of technologies such as cloud computing, augmented reality and haptics along with some maturing technologies including Caspian Learning’s Thinking Worlds and evaluation models.

Peter Butler, BT

The BT Dare2share story is a great one which we’ve already featured at Towards Maturity (http://www.towardsmaturity.org/article/2009/03/20/bt-dares-share/), but it was refreshing to hear Peter talk candidly about the challenges that B/T face as they transform the business and how the imminent roll-out of Dare2share throughout the organisation will play a pivotal role in embedding learning.

Frankly in this day and age there is really no excuse! With the new tools in our hands, new understanding about supporting performance and the ways that people learn and fresh research on how to deliver results, why is it that so many are stuck in old style thinking and delivery methods?

For 6 years, Towards Maturity have been researching how new tools are bringing about improved learning innovation , agility and . As a result we have been linking up with  Training Journal’s L&D 2020 research project to understand how L&D needs to transform in order to deliver.

We will be presenting at the  TJ conference and awards (21st September) on Using learning innovation to accelerate business change.

If you are concerned about adapting to changing business needs, then please do join us. Other speakers will also be addressing this critical issues and include:

• Martyn Sloman ( looking at the new skillsets for L&D professionals)
• John Baker , Head of Learning and Development at Legal and General  ( looking at L&D as the new business partner)
• Chris Robinson – ( looking at ingenious tricks for evaluating training impact)
  

Venue –The Commonwealth Club Northumberland Avenue London, WC2N 5AP

Cost - £495 +vat ( discounts for charity, and multiple bookings)

Date – 21st September 2010

To book & find out more - http://www.tjconferenceandawards.com/

As a business improvement process, benchmarking has been around since the early 90’s and is now considered vital in the private and public sector as a tool to improve operational performance and enable strategic re-positioning.

Why does Business Benchmark?

At a strategic level, benchmarking has been credited for literally turning companies around. The earliest  example of this came from Xerox,  the first pioneer of benchmarking, who used the approach to learn from their competitors in order to redefine their core offering. As a result they were able to regain market share at a time when their business was being rapidly eroded away by global competition. 

Now organisations use benchmarking to specifically consider new strategic directions. for the organisation and to improve processes within core business functions such as finance, procurement, HR, sales and others. In Japan, benchmarking is a core management practice - all managers are expected to not only keep up with colleagues but also to surpass them. The process of benchmarking becomes part of a process of continual improvement.

At its heart, benchmarking is a learning activity - as one author on the topic suggests  ‘Those that benchmark do not have to reinvent the wheel! (Parker 96).

So what is benchmarking?

Benchmarking is the process of comparing key performance indicators for one organisation with the indicators of others who are  considered to represent the industry standard or best practice for that field.

According to the Global Benchmarking Network, this process of comparison can be divided into informal benchmarking  and formal benchmarking (sound familiar?!)

• Informal benchmarking is used almost unconsciously by most as we compare our activities, learn from experts, consult with peers and harness the web.

Formal benchmarking is divided into  two areas – performance and best practice benchmarking.

• Performance benchmarking provides a comparison of key performance indicators which will vary from function to function. Typically they may be defined in terms of cost, cycle times, customer satisfaction, product performance , absenteeism but generally they are set to provide a standard against which other achievements can be measured. However performance benchmarking alone merely highlights the gap. It is of limited value unless the results are acted on.
• Best practice benchmarking on the other hand focuses on action – why are others getting the results they are getting and how can I improve as a result of that knowledge?

With this in mind, benchmarking becomes more than just comparing where you are with historical data – it has to be a dynamic process that reflects continual change. Equally, benchmarking isn’t just about comparing your situation with those in the identical industry – much can be learned from other industries facing similar problems and a new perspective can release new creativity. Is also isn’t just about outputs – benchmarking has to consider the processes that impact the outputs if it is to have any value at all.

Are our current L&D benchmarks adequate to help address the challenge we face?

According to the GBN, the most popular areas to conduct benchmarking projects are in customer service ,administration, training and human resources, and corporate strategy and planning. And it is good to see Training and HR in the list of popular areas.

We are operating at a time where  skills are seen as essential to leaving the recession and with resources being slashed , it is critical that as a core function the L&D function is able to redefine it’s offering, improve performance and take on a new strategic direction.

As we can see from other business areas, benchmarking provides an ideal opportunity to raise the bar within the function in terms of performance, products and focus.

However when we look at typical training benchmarking , the most detailed  performance indicators that are currently used  include % of staff attending training sessions, % of budget spent on training, average cost per employee, average test scores, in recent years, we’ve also seen the numbers of programmes that are web enabled creep into industry benchmarks.These are all input indicators and so far are all based on the traditional model of classroom training.

But , times are changing and these traditional benchmarks just do not serve the learning and development adequately – new tools, new methods of learning and new business expectations for L&D to respond faster with more just in time learning approaches mean that we need to redefine what good looks like.

Refining what good looks like - a new benchmark for L&D

At the start of our own benchmarking journey,  our aim was to  investigate how L&D departments were using technologies to make a real impact on the businesses they were serving.  With this focus on impact we had to consider new performance indicators for L&D that historically had only belonged in the benchmarking domain of other functions.

For example we considered indicators of efficiency improvement, bottom line business impact, staff motivation and morale as well as take up and speed to competency. This has now given us a measure of ‘performance benchmarking’ that is unique in the industry. But creating performance benchmarks, as we’ve mentioned above isn’t enough. It is just as important, if not more so, to dig into the best practices behind the performance so that we can act on them.

And this is where the process starts to get real teeth!  The benchmark has adapted over the years through the input of key industry players and the 1000+ organisations who have participated to date.The focus is always on continually improving the business impact of learning and identifying practical proven, good practice to help deliver performance.  Yes we can benchmark informally through excellent  industry networks, conferences and access to case studies and articles but  a professional , continually improving L&D function needs to be supported by more formal benchmarking processes if it is to rise above the flames of current market fires. 

With the help and support of industry, we are beginning to see the TM benchmark step up to that challenge.  WHilst it is primarily focussed on the way that technology improves learning innovation, this industry collaboration has ensured that the TM benchmark process is current, representative of L&D needs and reflects the full range of challenges we are facing today. As a result the feedback on the 2010 benchmark todate has been incredible – over 70% of those who have been through it say that the process has provided them with new ideas to take their learning agenda forward – and that is before they have received their personalised benchmark comparison and action plan based on best practice. 

Organisations are using it to influence change internally – as one participant put it ‘Taking part in this benchmark  is a deliberate strategy by our CLO to raise awareness of how far the organisation has to move to join the modern world!’ Others have just been waiting for an industry benchmark for L&D that reflects the modern world – ‘I believe this is the best survey I have spent my time on. The questions were well thought through and I could for once relate them to my organisation that I support’.

Well it has been an interesting first few weeks as the new coalition government is bedding in. The message clearly is that things are going to be different moving forward as the government  takes ‘ immediate and decisive action’! And for many in the public sector that action looks like it is going to mean just 4 things cuts cuts cuts and cuts!

The day after the election, those cuts were top of the agenda at the Public Sector Learning Conference ran by  Learning Pool. It was good to hear the perspective of Rob Whiteman, the newly appointed head of IDeA  on the challenges that lie ahead within the public sector and how to respond to them  .

Rob’s view was that over the next 3 years, those in the public sector can expect some  massive budget cuts with some organisations reducing by up to a fifth.  However, he felt that downsizing won’t get organisations very far. Service improvement used to be about be about increased spend and whilst cutting spend is a good shock tactic, it will not solve the problem alone – he challenged the audience ‘how do we become a people that deliver better outcomes with less money? Innovation is about change and collaboration and collaboration means that we need to engage in a way that is meaningful and often uncomfortable.

As I listened, it made me wonder if there were lessons there for those who are working in L&D within the sector as well.

Is it time for learning professionals in the public sector to sit tight and wait for the axe to fall or is it time to adapt from current manifestos and adopt new policies to come up with a new approach to delivering improved services but with a deficit of funds and support?

Change - time to let go of long held beliefs

One decisive action that I think L&D staff will need to take to make a conscious decision to lay down previous agendas  in order to address this new challenge.  This may mean changing the way that we think about how we meet the learning and performance needs of business but letting go of strongly held beliefs about the way we achieve that goal can be uncomfortable (Dave and Nick will probably testify to that!)

There are some manifestos that many of us hold onto that will not be appropriate going forward. Those traditionally holding a view that L&D departments are there to deliver courses to support the business may find that they need to do more to justify their existence or find themselves in the first line of fire. Those working with learning technologies may find themselves in a similar position. Many use technology to automate the old way of ‘doing learning’ ie providing courses on line but this may not be enough moving forward. If we can’t justify how a technology enabled approach to learning really makes a difference to critical business issues such as performance, improved service delivery and efficiency then do we deserve to be kept on the books?

What might change look like? Fewer courses (online and face to face)– that’s probably a given! What about shifting from learning to performance support? What about the learning that takes place without us – does this need to be encouraged and enabled even more in this new environment? Can we afford to design to every ‘learning style’ or should we only be concentration on the helping the organisations meet its pressing needs of delivering improved services with fewer resources?
Learning and development professionals have a significant role to play in equipping public sector organisations for change but only if we are able to change ourselves.(Check out how Cheshire ICT Services did this!)

Collaboration

To enable change we have to learn to collaborate in different ways.  Collaborating directly with the lines of business who are delivering services will be critical moving forward. As Rob Whiteman suggested, that collaboration needs to challenge the preconceived ways of working and learning in order to identify an innovative new approach to the problem.

That will mean asking difficult questions and identifying learning solutions that are unexpected. Do you really need someone to go on a 3 week orientation  course for their new role or can you help them get up to speed much faster with a combination of online resources & support, on the job tasks and support via a virtual meeting space?

Collaborating better with other departments to pool resources may also be necessary. For example, can sharepoint be used to help provide innovative learning support ( as in BT’s innovative Dare2Share project)? Can online meeting spaces be used to bring cohorts of learners together (Devon County council provides a great example of this)? Can internal communications portals be used to deliver learning – or learning portals be used to deliver communications messages?

We won’t know until we start to investigate the possibilities.

The power of Community

Pooling internal resources is one thing but should we also be looking to pooling learning resources with others outside of the operation? This will require collaboration on a scale not yet seen by the public sector and technology has the potential to provide the glue that sticks all this activity. Organisations like LearningPool  are making it possible for organisations across the public sector to collaborate together to deliver improved efficiencies.

For example,  Plymouth City Council saved £82,000 by using e-learning to deliver their mandatory Government Connect information security training to staff; the e-learning cost £3 per delegate compared to a classroom cost of £85. Plymouth then shared the Government Connect course they created to the ‘pool’ and Essex County Council repurposed it to deliver to 9,000 of their own employees, saving even more. This sharing meant that Essex was able to create their e-learning course for £1 per head compared to their classroom cost of £65.

LearningPool isn’t the only group to support cross organisational collaboration. The Charity Learning Consortium do something similar for the charity sector and Brightwave  also works in the public sector to ensure collaborative action drives down cost.  We can join these specific communities or  start engaging with the wider community via groups such as the eLearning Network   or the Learning and Skills group  .

You can also take part in the TM 2010 learning technology benchmark – a powerful opportunity to harness collective knowledge and knowhow.

Now is the time to be active, to learn from each other, to share resources and collectively start to innovate.

Communicate

How we communicate our learning offering will be critical moving forward. This is not about rolling out platitudes about learning and performance or even about technology and efficiency– time is probably passed for that.

It is critical that we really start to articulate the benefits for the organisation, to engage stakeholders and be part of a new learning culture that looks at delivering performance under pressure.  I strongly recommend the work commissioned by Becta to support businesses in building the business case for innovative learning practices . For example, their Delivering Results report helps L&D staff to articulate how to improve services, build efficiency, address the green agenda, increase productivity.   It  is this type of contribution that will be sorely missed when Becta go but the work that they have done on behalf of employers illustrates how important it is that using technology in learning is not enough to bring about change -  we also need to communicate what we are doing in a language understood by all in business if we are to be around in the long run.
 
Immediate , decisive action!

So 2010 has to be a year of ‘immediate and decisive action’ for those serving the public sector. In response to government directives for  cuts cuts cuts & cuts, L&D need to take  decisive action that  leads to change, collaboration, community and communication!

Getting results with learning technologies, 21st May 2010 from 09:30 – 15:10, London

The Skillstories Live network, convened by Business in the Community and supported by Investors in People, brings together organisations to share best practice around issues of skills development, mobilise you to take action through collaboration and share your experience, knowledge, and best practice. 

This event also marks the beginning of an exciting new relationship between Business in the Community and Towards Maturity, bringing together our mutual passion and expertise around advocating skills and innovation in the workplace.

Over the coming months, we will be finding creative ways of working together to achieve our common goals of supporting organisations in the use of learning technologies so that they are better able  respond to changing business skills needs. Together we look forward to raising the profile around the opportunities these technologies offer.

About the event – Getting Results with Learning Technologies

This event is a peer learning network for practitioners (HR, training, learning and development, in-house tutors/assessors, project managers etc).  The event will be hosted by Microsoft in London and is sponsored by Learn Direct, it will include sessions on:

• How Microsoft are leveraging learning technologies to support their own staff development and  how they are building critical digital skills through Britain Works
• Should we be demanding more? Controversial industry expert, Donald Clark will discuss new opportunities for learning innovation in business
• Kirstie Donnelly from Learndirect will be looking at the technology tools that we have in our hands today and how to make them work for us.
• Towards Maturity will be conducting a series of interactive workshops, based on our research and case studies, looking at practical solutions for addressing the challenges of implementing e-learning in the workplace . We’ll take a look at how to overcome objections, improve take up and get management buy-in.
• Most importantly there will be plenty of opportunity for peer networking and learning from each other as well as the opportunity to quiz an expert panel.

If you are a learning practiioner supporting learning in your business*, you can reserve your free place at the event or for more information please contact Anita Powell on 0207 566 6617 or email anita.powell@bitc.org.uk. There is no cost to delegates to attend, however a cancellation fee of £75 applies for non-attendance without 72 hours prior notice.

You can download more information below.

*regrettably this event is not open to learning providers and suppliers.

About  Business in the Community

Business in the Community mobilises business for good. Their members commit to take action on the key issues of today, be they people or planet, and create a unique platform for collaborative action. Business in the Community’s approach to responsible business provides a clear framework to address new challenges, improve business performance and benefit society. Their members recognise the relationship between responsible business practice, addressing social and environmental need and the role this plays in building confidence and creating wealth. BITC work across four areas of expertise in the workplace, marketplace, environment and community. By sharing knowledge and experience, and developing innovative solutions, we are a catalyst for change and demonstrate the positive impact business can have on society. 

With more than 800 companies in membership, BITC represent 1 in 5 of the UK private sector workforce and convene a network of global partners.

The Skillstories Live network is a peer learning network for practitioners (HR, training, learning and development, in-house tutors/assessors, project managers etc) developed by Business in the Community after requests from companies wanting the opportunity to learn from the experiences of other organisations and to be informed and consulted on skills developments and policies. For more information please see http://www.bitc.org.uk/workplace/skills/our_networks_and_eve.html

On April 29th, we are discussing these issues in a Learning and Skills Group webinar and will look at our mpact Indicator research and Evidence for Change programme to identify invaluable tricks and tips to help you grab management attention for your L&D programme – and keep it.

The slides for the webinar can be downloaded below.

We will be updating this article after the event to highlight:

• Top tips for creating manager apathy!
• Turning efficiency indicators into benefits
• Ideas for capturing and communicating success
• Tricks for tackling managerial indifference

Watch this space!

If you’re in the business of creating e-learning materials, then you’ll know how easy it is to get distracted from your primary goal by the contradictory pressures exerted upon you by your various stakeholders: make it as cheap as possible, as short as possible, as quickly as possible, while also as comprehensive as possible, as media-rich and engaging as possible.

As a designer of learning interventions for the workplace, your raison-d’ être is quite simple – the improvement of employee performance on-the-job; not winning awards, nor allowing management to tick all the boxes while going through the motions of delivering effective training. I have five secrets I’d like to share with you that might help you to keep focused amidst all this noise. You may even find you can get away with achieving more for very much less.

Secret 1: Don’t forget the learning

This may seem a little unnecessary, perhaps even patronising; after all, learning is your profession. However, as we’ve already discussed, the voice of the learning professional does not always rise strongly enough above those of the subject experts, technical specialists, creatives and project managers. The path to effective learning is neither obvious nor intuitive; if it was, we wouldn’t end up with so many interventions that comprise no more than a knowledge dump followed by a quiz. It pays to keep the core learning principles in mind and to keep it simple. Perhaps the best summary I’ve seen arose from the creation a few years ago of the 60-minute masters (1), a curriculum for the briefest possible course for wannabe designers, created by some of the world’s best. Here are the essential points that they came up with:

• Set a realistic goal
• Consider the content from the learner's point of view
• Hook learners in emotionally
• Present your material clearly, simply and in a logical order
• lluminate your material with imagery
• Use audio appropriately
• Put your material into context with examples, cases and stories
• Engage users with challenging interactions
• End with a call to action

Not all learning interventions are equal. Some are business critical, address the needs of large populations and have a shelf life of many years; others are aimed at smaller, more specialist audiences and may be required to meet a short-term business requirement; still more are confined to the very particular needs of individuals and small groups of employees, where information is required on-demand. These three types of interventions can be shown diagrammatically in the form of a pyramid (with thanks to Nick Shackleton-Jones):

High-end interventions demand the highest budgets and the attention of skilled professionals. They are the equivalent of the Hollywood blockbusters. The attention to detail and lengthy development schedules can be justified by the large numbers that will benefit from the end results. These are the exception, not the rule. Most needs cannot possibly justify this much effort and time.

Plan B is the rapid intervention, where the emphasis is on developing content that is good enough to do the job and no more. Plan C requires the help of more experiences or knowledgeable employees who help their peers by contributing the simplest of resources, often just text. So don’t over-engineer – match your production values to the requirement.

Secret 3: Employ willing helpers

The phrase ‘the long tail’ was first coined by Chris Anderson(2) in 2004 to describe the niche strategy of businesses, such as Amazon.com, which sell a large number of unique items in relatively small quantities. Whereas high-street bookshops are forced, by lack of shelf space, to concentrate on the most popular books, shown on the left of the chart below, retailers selling online can afford to service the minority interests shown below tailing off to the right. Interestingly, for a retailer such as Amazon, the volume of sales for minority titles exceeds that of the most popular; yet before the advent of online retailing these needs would have been very hard to service. 

The concept of the long tail can be applied as well to training needs as it can to sales of retail products; just substitute ‘training needs’ for ‘titles on sale’ and ‘target population’ for ‘copies sold’. However hard we try, as trainers we cannot hope to respond to the long tail through formal, top-down efforts. We can begin to address the middle reaches of the tail if we are prepared to delegate some of our responsibility for top-down interventions to generalist trainers and subject experts. In e-learning terms that means rapid development processes making use of rapid development tools.

At the far reaches of the tail, we have to rely on bottom-up approaches to meet the needs of small numbers. In a way this has always been the case – in the absence of any other help, an employee has never had any option but to ask for help from co-workers and supervisors, or at very least just to copy what they do. But l&d professionals can help the process along in a number of ways. First and foremost, they can ensure that employees are aware of their responsibilities as teachers as well as learners, and are cognisant of the most effective ways to pass on knowledge and skills. And where employees have access to the appropriate technology, they can make available tools that smooth the way for bottom-up learning; tools like forums, wikis and sites that enable employees to connect with experts and others with similar interests.

Good managers have always known that they cannot accomplish great things if they try to do everything themselves – they empower others and then encourage their efforts. Trainers who try to control all aspects of the training process and deny others the tools to make their own contributions, will never satisfy the needs of the long tail, and risk being bypassed in the rush to get things done in a fast-changing work environment.

Secret 4: Don’t over-rely on self-study

In a survey conducted in 2009 (3) of more than 2000 employees from eight different European countries, an overwhelming majority (87%) reported that they most liked to learn at their own pace. This should not be that surprising; after all, self-paced learning is highly flexible (you control when, where and how often) and low-stress (you are not pressured to keep up with the pace set by an instructor). This and other surveys have also shown that employees like to learn in small chunks (a sensible preference, because this is much more brain-friendly) and on-demand, i.e. without having to wait for a scheduled intervention. So self-study is more than just a tonic for the finance director; it works for learners too.  

But, of course, nothing is that simple. First of all, self-study is limited in its application, because it doesn’t address all learning requirements – in some cases the desired results simply cannot be achieved without interaction with experts, coaches and peers. Above all, self-study does not meet all of the needs of learners. However much learners want flexibility and control, they also want support, collaboration and community. They want access to real human beings so they can ask questions, share experiences and perspectives, benchmark their skills, and both give and receive encouragement.

Self-study does have an increasingly valuable role to play in learning interventions, but it cannot be relied upon as a stand-alone option. Blended solutions, like the induction programme shown below, may be more complex to administer, but they are more powerful and more likely to work.

Secret 5: Don’t get fixated on instruction

Many hundreds of years ago, Samuel Johnson advised us that “Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject ourselves or we know where we can find information upon it.” His point is even more relevant . Robert E Kelley (4) asked the question “Do you believe that the retention of information in your head is important for you to do your job well?” In 1986, the answer was 75%; in 1997, 15-20%. His estimate for 2006 was 8-10%.

There is far too much to know and it is changing so quickly that it is almost impossible to keep up. When a person entered a career just fifty years ago, they would have expected to learn all aspects of their trade or profession in the first five years or so, and then to apply this for the rest of their lives. Today that prospect seems ludicrous.In a networked age, it is much more important to know where to look and who to ask than it is to hold vast amounts of knowledge in your head.

This idea has even spawned a completely new approach to learning called connectivism. Canadian George Siemens (5) perhaps the most influential figure in this new movement, explains how: “Instead of the individual having to evaluate and process every bit of information, she/he creates a personal network of trusted nodes: people and content, enhanced by technology. The act of knowledge is offloaded onto the network itself.”

This has proofound implications for the instructional designer because it implies that instruction is not always going to be the most appropriate solution. It will often be more effective to limit instruction to key concepts and core skills, and then provide reference materials that can accessed on a just-in-time basis, not through learning management systems but as everyday online information, supported by social networks operating within the firewall.

It will soon be time for instructional designers to look for a new name. The purposes of online content are now much more profound and the impact of the designer can be much greater, not operating from the elevated viewpoint of the ivory tower, but as a specialist in a world in which everyone is a teacher as well as a learner.  

Note from Editor

Clive Shepherd works with Towards Maturity as our Programme Director for our First and Next Steps workshops. This article came about from one of our workshops earlier this year (February 2010) when we were looking at different approaches to improving the take up and buy in of e-Learning in the workplace.  Towards Maturity benchmark research has shown that those organisations who are responding to these areas in instructional design are definitely reporting more benefit from their investment in learning technologies - however, our research has also shown that they still remain a secret to many which is why we wanted to bring this article to more readers.  If you are starting to make some of Clive's secrets work for you- we would love to hear from you!

References:

1 -  The curriculum for the 60-minute masters can be found at http://www.learning15.net/wiki/index.php?title=The_60-minute_masters. A free implementation of the course can be found at http://www.learning15.net. 

2-  The long tail: how endless choice is creating unlimited demand by Chris Anderson (Random House, 2004).

3-  Rethinking learning, a survey conducted in June 2009 for SkillSoft by OnePoll.

4- How to be a Star at Work: Nine Breakthrough Strategies You Need to Succeed by Robert E Kelley (Times Books, 1999).

5- Knowing Knowledge by George Siemens (Lulu, 2006).

The biggest survey of learning technologies in the voluntary sector ever undertaken has revealed some interesting findings. More than 80 charities – representing more than 50,000 staff and volunteers - took part in the survey, carried out by independent e-learning analysts Towards Maturity in partnership with the Charity Learning Consortium (CLC).  Findings revealed that:
 
Learning technologies are helping charities to deliver more for less:
The top four benefits of adopting learning technologies are: improving flexibility of learning; improving access to learning; cutting costs and increasing reach – important to organisations often relying on part time staff spread countrywide.
 
Moving forward, they are expecting even more from their investment:
Over 2/3 of participants are looking for their investment in learning technologies to help increase staff retention; to improve training quality; to increase the number of qualified staff; to enhance the induction process; to reduce time spent learning; and to improve administration efficiency.

There is tremendous enthusiasm to adopt new approaches to learning:
72% say their internal learning teams are willing to embrace change.

More than 60% are looking to increase their allocation of budget in this area:
With the emphasis behind investment being more about improving learning delivery and its impact, rather than just finding a ‘cheaper option’.

“In this study we wanted to see how innovatively charities are thinking about skills and the extent to which they are using technology to address the needs of staff and volunteers, particularly when budgets are stretched but demand for a wide range of skills continues to grow,” said Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity.

Martin Baker, Managing Director of the CLC added: “We were particularly pleased to see that more than 30% of the charities that took part make e-learning available to directors and senior managers - when directors are using learning technologies, the overall business impact from e-learning investment is significantly higher. Leading through actions delivers results and we would expect those charities where directors are e-learners to benefit.”

Moving forward, there is certainly no lacking in participant’s enthusiasm and commitment to change. But with increased budget allocation comes increased expectation of results: “In order for future investment not to disappoint, charities should take the opportunity to learn from each other – as well as from practices in the private and public sector – and this is where I hope the CLC can help.” added Martin. (Photo of Martin Baker attached.)

John LeRossignol, Learning Resources Manager at RNLI, commented: “The personalised benchmark report we received has provided a framework for learning technology strategy and implementation that I keep coming back to – in essence it has helped me to define my objectives, highlighting areas where we can further develop a culture of learning within the RNLI.”

You can download the full report below:

Other highlights from the survey include: What’s hot and what’s not in learning technologies in the voluntary sector:

What’s hot:

• Electronic learning materials (75%+ of survey participants use)
• Web resources (65%+)
• Online surveys and questionnaires (65%+)
• Online administration (50%+)

What’s not:

• Video, games or virtual worlds (<7%)
• Blogging and chat (< 11%)
• Podcasting (<13)
• Rapid development tools (<15%)

Notes to editors:

Survey participants: 76% of participants were from larger organisations with 250+ staff (46% of these were from organisations with over 1,000 staff).  71% of the participants had staff spread over multiple sites: 18% were multinational and 53% national but with many locations to serve.

Contacts: PR contact Susie Finch, email: trainingsusie@btconnect.com Tel 01453 768855 Mobile 07986 095 403. You can also contact Wendy Stanley at the CLC on 08451 707702 or Laura Overton at Towards Maturity on 07831144265.

About the Charity Learning Consortium:

Formed in 2001 by six charities looking to share learning resources, the Charity Learning Consortium (CLC) now has more than 60 member organisations and continues to grow from strength to strength. The CLC provides members with a large portfolio of e-learning, offers networking opportunities and a place to discuss best practice in the voluntary sector. Members have access to an online networking tool; shared member resources and e-learning documentation. They may also be invited to attend quarterly member meetings (dependent on subscription level) to discuss developments, take part in free workshops and watch member presentations on their challenges and successes in implementing e-learning. Find out more at www.charitylearning.org

About report authors and Towards Maturity:

Towards Maturity, an independent not for profit organisation, provides ongoing research and resources to organisations looking to improve the way they use and provide learning technologies. More than 700 organisations have taken part in Towards Maturity Benchmark research over the past five years - now considered to be the most comprehensive independent review of the use of learning technologies in the workplace in the UK. The charity benchmark was authored by Laura Overton, Managing Director of Towards Maturity. With more than two decades of experience, Laura has contributed to initiatives with the European Commission, the UK’s Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Becta. She is a Fellow of the Institute of IT training (IITT), a popular industry commentator and is the most recent recipient of the IITT’s Colin Corder Award for lifetime contribution to the learning industry. Fnd out more at www.towardsmaturity.org

Here’s a brief summary of the day:

Previously published on our website and featured in the e-learning Age magazine, Alison Innes-Farquhar presented the very compelling Care Management Group case study which won ‘The best e-learning project securing widespread adoption’ at the e-learning Awards 2009. Using the Towards Maturity model as the basis for their strategy, Alison described how they needed to make some significant changes in training provision and how e-learning has supported a dramatic turnaround in the organisation.

It’s important to recognise that this is a care-focussed working environment with low levels of PC literacy across their workforce of 1,500 staff who are mostly front-line carers and care workers. In Alison’s own words – “there were powerful drivers for e-learning but many barriers to adoption”.  She emphasised that stakeholder engagement was critically important and they held a workshop with the key stakeholders to outline their strategy and to gain support and endorsement. She explained the clear links between clear definition of need, alignment to the business, setting the learner and work context, securing engagement, building capacity and delivering value – the very essence of our work at Towards Maturity.
They established the brand ‘Fulfilling Potential’ which subsequently became part of the corporate brand, which is a great endorsement in itself! Launched initially through a multimedia presentation themed ‘Every Moment Has Potential’ the programme has been a resounding success with very high adoption rates. 99% of their staff has completed 12,800 modules of e-learning which represents 18,449 hours of learning all in the first year. And that’s in an organisation with poor IT infrastructure, low levels of PC literacy and a workforce of front-line carers. In fact in their own internal staff satisfaction survey undertaken in September 2009, training was the overwhelming winner when staff were asked ‘what’s the best thing that CMG have done’? Terrific achievement.

Dr Edward Hammond, a qualified anaesthetist who is involved in numerous projects and with various professional bodies, presented ‘e-learning for Anaesthesia’ (eLA) on behalf of e-learning for Health at the Department of Health. Edward is responsible for e-learning standards in the NHS. Anaesthesia is the largest medical speciality and it takes 14 years to be fully trained. This joint initiative between the Royal College of Anaesthetists and Department of Health won the gold award at the e-learning awards 2009 for ‘Best Online or Distance Learning Project’.

Edward stated that the Radiology Integrated Tool Initiative (known as R-ITI) was the catalyst for the Dept of Health to look to do more with e-learning. In fact you can learn more about the R-ITI project here. There are currently 57 different e-learning projects in the Dept of Health ranging from 2 hour to 2,000 hour sessions. This particular project for anaesthetists is in partnership with the professional body using proven technology. It is made freely available throughout the NHS and shared services.

The training is complex combining knowledge, skills and attitude. They’ve learnt of the need to understand differences at a ‘local’ level in order to provide training at a ‘national’ level, and of course e-learning consistently delivers content to an agreed national standard. In this particular programme the content takes two years to complete and is broken down into 7 blocks of competency in the overall curriculum. It was good to hear that ‘learning objects’ are alive and kicking as the content features 20-30 minute segments of learning.

In fact e-LA offers the following components as part of the blended solution:

• e-Learning Sessions – Over 1,000 knowledge and scenario based sessions covering the first two years of the anaesthetic curriculum. Each session takes around 20-30 minutes to complete.
• e-Library – free and direct access to thousands of full-text journal articles which have been cross-referenced and mapped to the anaesthetic curriculum.
• e-CPD – articles and associated MCQs to support general and core topic based continuing professional development for trainees and trainers.
• e-Assessment – formative assessments with feedback that will test the user’s understanding of the knowledge based sessions and introduce students to the standard expected at the FRCA exam.

They allocate approx 200 hours of learning per individual per year with e-learning being used as part of a blended programme. There are approx 400 different authors working on the project as they seek to move anaesthetists through the 3 stages of learning, comprehension and application. As Edward explained they want to ‘make the learning experience active rather than passive, interesting rather than dull’.

Evaluation data reveals that content is used by anaesthetists just before an exam and that constant feedback is invaluable. It’s the largest single subject e-learning project in the NHS and you can learn more at www.e-la.org.uk.

Next was one of the regular contributors to Towards Maturity, Lars Hyland of Brightwave who spoke about ‘Designing e-learning for Impact’. Lars focussed on creative and effective design and using the ‘IMPACT’ metaphor he demonstrated a number of excellent examples as follows:

• Interaction – PWC and IKEA (Missing Stock).
• Multimedia – BUPA (Virtual Call Centre) and SKY (Customer Care)
• Personal – O2 (Diversity & Equality) and Virgin (Manual Handling)
• Actionable – T-Mobile
• Challenging - SKY
• Timing
  

To liven up the normal ‘graveyard’ slot after lunch the ELN held its first Pecha Kucha session which seemed to go down very well. For those not familiar with PechaKucha it was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of "chit chat", it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It's a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace. The ELN persuaded four of its members to ‘have a go’! Claire Line of Lovells, Katherine Chapman of Capita National Strategies, Viv Cole from Redtray and Matt Brewer from Chubb who emerged as the winner! I think that grants Matt the dubious pleasure of having to do it all again!

Nick Shackleton-Jones of the BBC presented on a ‘New Framework for Learning Design’ which has been used in ‘Upfront’ a new online induction programme. What was fascinating about Nick’s session was how the focus is on encouraging people to care enough about changing behaviour, and that means that emotion is seen as being very important. After all in real life there are emotional outcomes to what is learnt so they seek to capture that passion in the learning.

Nick and his team use different presenters to help to connect with a wider and diverse audience in the BBC. He shared examples from their selection and interview process modules to show emotional context with strong authenticity. He also introduced the audience to what they call ‘tribes’ at the BBC – a term used to describe different audiences with different ways of learning. They adapt the e-learning for these different tribes in the organisation – this includes the creation of a series of A5 sized cards used for reference and to provide insight. These cards defer by tribe!

Finally Major Daisy Mundy from the British Army talked about ‘Operation Numerika’ a basic numeracy programme based on a Nintendo DS. She’s part of the Directorate of Training who follow a systemised approach to learning through needs analysis, design/development, delivery and evaluation. All soldiers have to complete level 1 numeracy and literacy within 3 years with literacy the priority.

Time is very precious for soldiers although they do have what she described as ‘dead time’ which is when they are often waiting for something to happen while on operations. This led them to consider portable devices and they selected the Nintendo DS as this would help to overcome the barriers and obstacles they faced.

They have a wide number of stakeholders and they worked with their commercial developer (Epic) to develop ‘Operation Numerika’. She stressed that over the years the army have learnt that ‘Context is King’! Apart from the Nintendo DS they are also looking at more flexible devices such as the Apple iTouch for more experienced soldiers.

So what can we learn from the event?
It’s the sheer diversity of audience, organisation and history with learning technologies that most struck me and what is being achieved.

Take Care Management Group where their staff rate the training as the best thing that CMG have done for them and that’s in an organisation with poor IT infrastructure, low levels of PC literacy and a workforce of front-line carers. ‘e-learning for Anaesthesia’ (eLA) is the largest single subject e-learning project in the NHS with structured content, assessment, qualification and reference material all part of the eLA online solution. Brightwave with their creative and effective design examples across diverse businesses. Nick Shackleton-Jones at the BBC and their focus on emotion and encouraging people to care enough about changing behaviour, and finally the British Army utilising mobile devices (Nintendo DS) to meet the needs for soldiers to achieve level 3 in numeracy.

There are always lessons to be learnt from those harnessing learning technologies and delivering value in their organisations. As a key partner of Towards Maturity the e-learning Network is a further source for guidance on best practice and future trends in technology-based learning and development at work. The eLN has more than 1500 members in the UK and beyond.

There have been some excellent reviews of the event that we'd recommend you take a look at. Buzz words to summarise the themes discussed upstairs in the conference and down on the exhibition floor include social learning,performance, mobile, games, innovation, recession, results,rapid, innovation, design,twitter and culture.

Check out the commentary: 

Congrats to Donald Taylor who did a great job in pulling the conference together. His reflections on the event - plus a link to a whole range of other reviews) can be found here. Jane Hart (together with Jay Cross) commented on the wide spectrum of understanding of social learning at the event, particularly for those where it was an untried experience - so still someway to go before we start to deliver in this area. Lars Hyland did a great summary. TrainingZone interviewed everyone they could get hold of. Clive Shepherd picked up on the great story of BT ( see below) and asked why doesn't the event use technology to engage more attendees?! You can also catch up with Learning Technologies news and gossip on Twitter at #LT10UK.

Top tips to take away

Whilst the networking is always great and it's good to spend time with like minded people who share your passions, the proof of a good conference is in what you take away and apply.

Here are some of the top tips that we picked up over the conference

Andy Jones from Thomson Reuters shared their model for developing content consisting of Subject Matter Experts (SME’s), Champions (who will ultimately deliver the learning) and e-learning consultants.

• TOP TIP for managing resources: Andy is finding it more economic in the long term to get the relevant team together in a workshop to thrash out what’s needed rather than making ad-hoc demands, especially on SME’s on an ongoing basis.

A Moodle based portal is at the heart of a centrally driven strategy with local ownership at the Ministry of Justice , hosting all training activity for 95,000 staff. The organisation wanted  to deliver greater flexibility in learning delivery to fit with busy work schedules

• TOP TIP for creating bite size learning - They’ve also created what they describe as ‘nudges’ of learning (2 minutes), ‘know-how’s’ (5 minutes) and finally courses.

David Spruzen from CMG shared their award winning story about how they overcame the challenges of implementing e-learning in an organisation with poor infrastructure, time poor staff, limited learning culture and also to engage an audience with learning disabilities.

• TOP TIP for the discouraged  - perseverance  - if CMG can do it ,anyone can!

In his own inimitable way Jonathan Kettleborough challenged L&D professionals to focus on the outputs and what really makes a difference in their organisation, while Nigel Harrison and Darrell Minards (Xerox) explained how really understanding the desired performance improvement meant that Xerox channelled their energy into the right long-term solution rather than simply ‘more training’. Darrell emphasised the need for a different set of skills for L&D professionals in developing virtual solutions.

• TOP TIP for embedding learning into busines culture - focus on performance improvement at the core - challenge the the why

Peter Butler shared BT's journey with social software to encourage staff collaboration and sharing - implementing Dare2Share in a conservative culture took planning and foresight but the results are paying off

• TOP TIP for relinquishing control - if you are implementing social learning, make sure that everyone understands their accountability and visibility of their contribution.

....to be continued!

It was originally created to provide a quick snapshot of the current e-learning landscape to help L&D professionals highlight the opportunties that new technologies. And it was made for sharing!

We have had some really interesting feedback on how people have been using the resource:

• This was first class: simple, and accessable. If I'm honest it provided me with the knowledge I should really have known! Thank you!
• I think it's a really good booklet for someone starting out.
• I have kept the booklet as a useful reference tool. Although I have not used it immediately, I know it is going to be very useful to use to give other people here an insight into what learning technologies can offer 
• I found this document very useful for researching e-learning. It really helped me to complete a CTP assignment. It also opened my mind to alternative solutions for the courses I design in future.

We would love to know what you thought of the booklet. How useful was it to you, your team and what else you would like to see it include in the future?

Please click here and tell us what you thought!

Towards Maturity  are really proud to support these awards as each category has been design to really promote excellence in the use of learning technologies for building skills and performance.  Though our partnership with the awards, we are able to bring our readers plenty of hints and tips from  previous winners and to share the secrets of their success.

You can read more about the 2009 elearning award winners here but if you have been inspired, why not give it a go?

The award categories are as follows:

• Meeting the needs of compliance for an external regulator or an internal workforce
• Best use of mobile learning
• The best use of rapid e-learning content
• The best use of synchronous e-learning
• The best online or distance learning programme
• The best learning game, simulation or virtual environment
• The best use of social media for learning (NEW for 2010)
• The most innovative new product or tool in e-learning
• The best e-learning project securing widespread adoption
• Excellence in the production of learning content - Not for Profit Sector
• Excellence in the production of learning content - Private Sector 
• Excellence in the production of learning content - Public Sector  
• E-learning internal project team of the year
• E-learning industry award for outstanding achievement - individual
• E-learning industry award for outstanding achievement - corporate

The judging criteria are clearly laid out ( thanks to the award Judging Partner - the eLearning Network) and you can check them out here.

You have plenty of time to get ready as the deadline for registration of entry is the 30 June 2010 ( with the deadline for submission of entry on the 30 July 2010).

If you need a helping hand, take a look at A judge's perspective on how to win awards! ( or download the article below!)

It’s that time of year when everyone seems to feel compelled to generate their list of ‘Top Ten Predictions’ for 2010 – or perhaps their Top Five or Top Seven! We didn’t want to feel left out so rather than compile another ‘Top Ten’ list we thought it might be fun to develop the ‘Definitive Top Ten’ list based on the thoughts and ramblings of many of those respected in the industry who are members of our ‘Community of Excellence’, sprinkled with some of our own insight.

Of course the beauty of this crystal ball gazing is that if you’re proved right at the end of the year then you clearly have an in-depth understanding and unrivalled insight into the world of learning technologies. If you’re wrong then you can simply blame social, economic and political factors that were unknown at the time you compiled your list – quite a handy ‘get out of jail’ card really!

Some of our colleagues have chosen to review their 2009 projections to see how close they were 12 months later. Others ‘played safe’ with predictions that most of us could make about operating in global markets, facing increased competition, the current economic climate and the political landscape etc so we’ll focus on those predictions that are perhaps a little more forward thinking and of particular relevance to learning & development.

At Towards Maturity, we like to think we keep our finger on the pulse, not just by keeping up with our colleagues but through our own research into what’s working and what’s not (via our implementation benchmarks) and the impact we are having on the organisations we work with (via our evidence for change programme and our latest Impact Indicator). 

So unsurprisingly we also have some thoughts of our own!

The Definitive List of Top Ten Predictions for 2010

Well it may not be ‘definitive’ but it’s ours!! It won’t surprise those of you who are well aware of the work of Towards Maturity that our list will include those things that we believe will and must happen in 2010 for L&D to be seen to be making an invaluable contribution to an organisations performance. In no particular order here’s our Top Ten Predictions for 2010:

• More focus on delivering business value ( and communicating that we do!) – ok, it may not be the most original thought but our most recent research with the Impact Indicator survey reveals that what managers look for in terms of the value and contribution of learning  is not what we’re giving them, and that’s assuming we’re giving them something! We will concentrate on aligning learning to business and ALSO improving the way we communicate our value back to managers.
  
• Web conferencing for live online sessions – already growing rapidly from our last benchmark study, we think this will become much more prevalent because many organisations already have licences for web conferencing services and will find it relatively straightforward to adapt. In effect the technology will continue to act as a bridge between pure self-study and classic classroom based training and will be a more comfortable option for traditional trainers to engage with.
  
• A continued rise in rapid e-learning solutions – Again one of the fastest growing technologies from our last benchmark, we believe the adoption of such solutions will continue at a pace and we’ll continue to see richer and more engaging tools becoming available. The economic argument for accelerated adoption is a strong one but in 2010 we should see more creative application of rapid content within our learning offerings for business (eg.to support internal communications, change, within the blend of leadership training and other talent management initiatives) and many L&D teams will feel happier that these tools are now firmly established in the mainstream.
  
• Increase in mobile learning – Mobile learning is back in vogue as a result of the new web enabled functionality that many carry around with them. Many of the others are predicting the rise of mobile learning this year as a result of new tools in  our hands – guess what - we agree!
  
• More flexible learning management platforms – We may just be witnessing the death of those large scale inflexible LMS’s we were all so excited about back in the 1990’s!! You don’t find many advocates these days so we think we’ll see far greater use of open source systems that allow you to add applications according to your needs, especially with Moodle which is rapidly establishing a mainstream audience.
  
• Frameworks for Social Learning – social learning is on almost everyone’s target list right now and for good reason. We’ve been debating it for the last 2 years and finally we will see organisations embrace the 70/20/10 rule. But to get the most benefit organisations will need to bring in more context so that busy professionals can ‘get it’ faster - we believe that we’ll see more frameworks for implementing social learning so that it starts to make sense for traditional businesses. (We've case studies on site, such as B/T’s ‘Dare2Share’ and IBM , that provide good examples of this).
  
• Scenario based learning – we’re all familiar with the use of simulations from their use in IT systems, office desktop applications and product training to soft skills, but we are going to see the emergence of more scenario based simulations such as those used in supporting the training of airline pilots and emergency services personnel.
  
• More focus on building L&D skills - we will see the continued growth in the use of informal learning communities for L&D and more learning resources and events for L&D will appear. Trainers will be more interested in increasing their basic awareness of technology opportunities and will need to know how to integrate it effectively into solution design. There will also be more focus on building strategic skills of implementation & engagement so that the terrible e-learning mistakes of the past are not repeated.
  
• L&D will become more demanding – of ourselves and of our suppliers. The economic climate and the need to innovate & make a difference means that we will no longer just commission a simple e-learning course (or classroom course for that matter) because that is what we have always done. Instead we will ask more questions about what are we trying to achieve for the business and what is the most appropriate way to achieve it. This puts ‘performance’ at the core of what we are doing as we move out of our comfort zone. Whereas learning technologies have only been used to support induction or compliance learning, L&D will recognised the need to be seen to be adding real business value (but with fewer resources) so we will see more turn to innovative applications of technology to address strategic business needs such as leadership, talent management, customer service and organisational change.
  
• More political will to see change in learning provision from the public purse - The last is as much a hope as a prediction but we would love to see a shift in policy to influence how our skills qualifications are delivered – moving from the 19th to 21st century delivery. With all political parties talking about a focus on skills as a key contributor to economic growth and the opportunities that a digital Britain can provide, we’d love to see our colleges and universities being encouraged to innovate!

We've summarised some of the other predictions and top tips from our community of excellence colleagues in the download below - looks like we are in for a great year !

It's not every day that a member of the Towards Maturity team wins a top award at the IT Training Awards, so we are very proud to announce that Laura Overton won the coveted Colin Corder award for her outstanding contribution to IT Training at the IT Training Awards 2010 held at The Dorchester Hotel on Thursday 4th February.

In announcing the award Colin Steed, Chief Executive at the Institute of IT Training said that: "Laura has been an influential voice in the IT training industry for many years, and this award recognises her outstanding work, achievement, and contribution to advancing the training profession. She is a tremendous ambassador for the training profession and for over 20 years Laura has helped organisations make the most of their use of workplace learning technologies, as well as working with government bodies and initiatives in the skills field to help them be as successful as possible. Co-author of a significant study into effective e-learning practices in the workplace, published by e-skills UK in February 2007, Laura is a very popular and well-respected industry commentator, and is a popular and much read writer in all the leading training journals".

Laura works tirelessly on behalf of all of those involved in using learning technologies in the workplace to deliver value. Her passion is for learning and seeing it directly contribute to organisational performance. The alignment of learning, through the use of learning technologies, to key business objectives is something that she has championed for many years. Her boundless energy, enthusiasm and tenacity is something that we've come to expect at Towards Maturity but it is particularly gratifying to see her efforts recognised by winning this prestigious award.

On behalf of all of those who subscribe to Towards Maturity in support of our key aims and goals, we would like to offer our sincere congratulations to Laura on this achievement.

We'd also like to recognise all the other award winners and congratulate them on their achievements. You can find details of all the other award winners via a Training Press Release here.

• Why do I need to do this? 
• Why am I learning online rather than in a classroom? 
• Once I’ve completed my learning, now what?

You can read more on this thought provoking piece by clicking on the link below.

New partnership to provide L&D departments with resources and toolkits to improve the impact of learning technologies in large organisations was announced at Learning Technologies 2010 today.

Towards Maturity and Elearnity have created a strategic partnership to combine resources and capabilities to accelerate the transformation of large organisations through more effective application of learning technologies.

Large organisations in the private and public sector are under significant pressure to rapidly up-skill new and existing staff, and respond to business demands faster with fewer. Many are turning to learning technologies as part of the answer but have had poor experiences and low take-up. Complex, multisite organisations with multiple decision makers and stakeholders often struggle to leverage the full opportunities that learning technologies can offer.

Over many years, Towards Maturity and Elearnity have built up resources and independent research to identify the activities that influence success in large organisations.

Towards Maturity has focussed on developing a unique e-learning benchmark. The Towards Maturity Model of effective learning technology implementation has been developed as a result of independent research, benchmarking 700 organisations over the past five years. The model identifies six strands of implementation behaviour that consistently deliver more business impact, more staff engagement and more take-up of new learning methods at work.

Elearnity, Europe’s leading Learning Analyst, has been independently researching and analysing the corporate use of learning technologies and other areas of learning innovation since 1996. Based on its extensive research, Elearnity has developed a detailed understanding of corporate learning technology strategies and realities together with an extensive range of supporting analysis and decision tools, independent vendor assessments, and other research materials.

The new partnership will combine capabilities to provide workshops, independent advisory services, toolkits and resources specifically to address the learning technology challenges faced by larger organisations in the public and private sector.

 ”In 2010, Organisations are taking a closer look at what learning needs to deliver to rapidly changing businesses, and learning innovation needs to accelerate” said David Wilson, Managing Director of Elearnity. “This partnership will help us to support our clients more effectively with the addition of Toward Maturity’s e-learning benchmark capabilities as well as extending the reach of Elearnity’s independent learning technology research and know-how to a broader audience.”

We are thrilled to be working with Elearnity, large organisations face two main barriers to implementing change – reluctance of staff to change and lack of skills of L&D to take advantage of what technology can offer. Through this partnership we can offer independent, practical support for organisations, grounded in years of research and analysis of the corporate market to help them step up to the challenge.

About Elearnity
Elearnity is Europe’s leading independent Learning Analyst providing independent expert research, analysis and advice on corporate learning, e-learning and learning technologies.  Elearnity provides expert independent advice to help organisations accelerate and de-risk their corporate learning innovations. Clients include: Aviva, B&Q, Boots the Chemist, BP, BT, Cable & Wireless, Coca-Cola Enterprises Europe, HSBC, KPMG, Marks & Spencer, Marsh, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Rolls-Royce, Royal Bank of Scotland, RSA Group, Unilever and Vodafone.
For more information on Elearnity research and services see:
www.elearnity.com

First Steps and Next Steps workshops will address e-learning skills gap in the UK

Independent research by Towards Maturity in 2009 clearly identified the extent to which a lack of awareness and skills among the learning and development community is holding back growth in the use of new learning technologies. In the current tough economic climate, UK organisations are looking for learning interventions which can address needs quickly, flexibly and effectively. Only by using new learning technologies can these demands be met.

The free resources and research on this site have been developed to help organisations on their journey with e-learning but over the past 12 months, we have had a number of enquiries for help in applying the lessons learned. As a result, we have teamed up with Clive Shepherd to create 2 interactive workshops.

The first two workshops support organisations on their journey with learning technologies, focusing on tangible business outputs. They draw on Towards Maturity’s strong research base and established Towards Maturity Model for improving the impact of e-learning in the workplace.

First steps - increasing awareness of the whole L&D team 

The First Steps workshop is aimed at raising the awareness of the whole L&D team. It explains what e-learning now has to offer, the benefits that UK organisations are reporting, and the skills that trainers will need in order to engage productively with the new learning technologies. It builds on the highly-successful booklet, What every l&d professional needs to know about e-learning, published in 2009.

Next Steps Workshop - building and effective e-learning strategy 

The Next Steps workshop is a blended solution aimed at the supporting the development of an effective learning strategy and engaging the key stakeholders with change. Using the Towards Maturity  model as a framework, this workshop helps organisations to identify a practical action plan to ensure that their investment in learning technologies delivers results, avoids costly mistakes and realises the full potential of learning technologies.

The aim is to provide independent advice on how to move forward with learning technologies, based on sound experience rather than abstract theories or over-hyped new fads. These workshops will play a key role in meeting this need and accelerate progress at a time when organisations are having to respond to unprecedented pressures.

Clive explains what drove their design: “These workshops are intended to be run primarily on an in-company basis and, as such, they are highly-customised change interventions rather than training courses, modelling the best in collaborative learning and working. They will work best when all key stakeholders participate fully and experience for themselves how learning technologies can improve the way that they learn and work together.”

Accellerating stakeholder engagement

Lincolnshire County Council were among the first to introduce the Next Steps Workshop to support the development of their ‘New ways of learning’ strategy. Over 40 stakeholders were involved in the programme to contribute to the strategy moving forward. Andy Brookes, Head of Organisational Change at Lincolnshire County Council says ‘Working with Towards Maturity really kick started our ‘New Ways of Learning strategy’. The Towards Maturity Model was a proven framework that would move our strategy forward and the supporting workshop has helped accelerate stakeholder engagement and buy in. We achieved in a 6 week blended programme what would have taken us 6-9 months without Towards Maturity’s support.’

Special offer

To celebrate the launch of the new workshops, Towards Maturity Enterprises are offering a 20% discount for the first 10 workshops booked by 31st March 2010.

The full press release is below, together with a case study about the work with Lincolnshire County Council.

You can also find out about Towards Maturity Enterprises and how this work supports the ongoing activity of this site at www.towardsmaturityenterprises.com. 

Free seminars - Supporting workplace priorities with e-learning – compelling evidence to think again

If you are looking for information that goes beyond the hype  to provide you with a solid evidence base grounded in  reality, then don’t miss these free seminars launching the results of 2 independent pieces of research conducted by Towards Maturity in support of Next Generation Learning in the workplace.

• Day 1 Wednesday 27th January, Theatre 4,  first floor 16 – 16.30hrs

Launch of the Towards Maturity Impact Indicator - 195 of you participated in the Towards Maturity Impact Indicator research at the end of last year providing insights into the impact that learning technology is having in the real world. The winners of the place on the ROI Institute course will be announced at this seminar.

• Day 2 Thursday 28th January, Theatre 7, ground floor, 13.30 – 14.00hrs
  

Delivering Results is a new study , commissioned by Becta, to review the existing evidence of learning technology impact in the workplace. In this session you will see how it identifies 8 business priority areas where learning technology is having an impact and provides links to a 48 case studies plus a range of resources and research all in one simple paper.

All attendees will have a free paper summarising the evidence to take away to help support your business case back at work and help you influence wary  stakeholders.

Free seminar – What every Learning and Development professional needs to know about e-learning

•  Day 1 - Wednesday 27th January , Theatre 8, ground floor, 13.30 – 14.00hrs

If you enjoyed the download of the booklet, then come and meet the authors– Clive Shepherd will be joining Laura Overton to look at some of the opportunities that technology provides for L&D staff – bring your colleagues, especially those who are sceptical.  Free print versions of the booklet will be available for all attendees while stocks last!

Free seminar - Delivering more together –quality skills provision on a voluntary sector budget

•  Day 2 - Thursday 28th January 2010, Theatre 8 (ground floor) 12.45 - 13.15
  

For all those working in the charity and voluntary sector this session  will look at the results of Towards Maturity’s benchmark with the sector last year, in conjunction with the Charity Learning Consortium. We will be looking at practical ideas to share resources and make budgets go further. (Also take a look at the award winning case study at Plan below)

Free coffee and free resources to take away at the Towards Maturity Stand – number 125

As usual you can find the TM team on the first floor, in our networking area on stand 125 (near the exhibition seminar theatres). Bring a copy of this newsletter and we’ll swap it for a free coffee!  Towards Maturity Enterprises  will also be launching some new workshops  developed in partnership with Clive Shepherd for those who need a bit of extra support in their journey with learning technologies.

A chance to hear from many of TM’s Community of Excellence.

Many of our community of excellence are also speaking at the event, here are just a few highlights!

On Day 1 -  Wednesday 27th

• The Mobile debate  Epic will be extending the popular e-learning debate from September this year to mobiles  - do smart phones mean smarter learning? (11.30)
• Social learning; all talk and no action?  from Saffron (11.30)
• See a course built live in 15 minutes from Atlantic Link (11.30)
• Building a commercial e-learning offering from the ground up Information Transfer (13.00 hrs)
• Video fear (and how to get over it!)  - Brightwave - (14.30)
• Effective training for Nikon Dealers - Kineo (13.45)
• Organisational learning - new technologies for a new world  -Thirdforce (13.45)
• Web 2.0 – what is it good for? - Infinity Learning ( 15.15) 

Day 2 – Thursday 28th

• The learning and skills trilogy – models for reaching learners, building value  e2Train ( 11.45)
• Award winning case study at Plan  - featured on this site but now meet the man himself!(11.45)
•  Being Realistic: affordable and effective scenario strategies Line Communications 12.45
• Knowledge transfer on the move – great new case study from Black &Decker (14.00)
• Beyond the hocus pocus: - new technologies are affecting corporate learning – element K (14.00)
• How to teach the world - Gatlin (14.45)
• Bridging the e-learning skills gap  - Clive Shepherd, e-Learning Network (15.30)

Avoid the queues - register for free today

The strap line of the conference was: The power of lifelong learning; innovation during a recession recovery?

Sir David Melville (Chair of Lifelong Learning UK) set the scene on the short-term future for learning and development professionals.  “When we emerge from the recession the nature of jobs and the skills needed will be different”, was his opening statement.  We lag significantly behind our European partners in qualifications and in skills. The UK workforce has to compete against an increasingly competitive and mobile Global workforce.  Those currently in work also face competition from new entrants with radically different digital skills. Those entering post-compulsory education now have been immersed in a digital environment; in 2009 60% of 13 year-olds have a web presence, in 2007 it was 60% of 16 year olds.

Young people are used to presenting themselves to others through a digital medium.  Those beginning skills training today will enter a very different technological world.  Those of us who train and educate this generation “Y” in the workplace need to understand their very different view of the digital environment; different to the majority of those currently in work today.

Will Hutton, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Work foundation, followed this with a hard-hitting punchy presentation on the dire situation in which the UK finds itself as we struggle to emerge from the current recession.  For the last 20 years the finance sector has been the engine room of the UK economy.  We cannot afford for its growth to continue after the recession. You could hear a pin drop in the auditorium as he stated that if we allowed it to do so then in the next recession, which will come, Britain would be truly crippled by a financial disaster.  He backed this assertion up with solid clearly presented facts.

The solution is to expand the rest of the economy. This has to be skills based; in many cases skills we do not yet understand we need.  We have to earn our living as knowledge workers; by 2020 52% of us.  The UK has to make a living from the innovation and application of new technologies. We must have skills to develop techniques and technologies that are at the moment only dreamt of.  The challenge for the learning and development professional is to enable this skill development right across the board at all levels.

The theme on having to respond differently was continued by Stephen Uden, the Head of Skills and Economic Affairs at Microsoft.  He compared the learning investment made in the current workforce, the average is £1K per employee per year, in the IT sector (predominantly knowledge workers) the average investment is £2½ K The hill to climb in developing skills is massive. 

Forty percent of employers, many of whom are small companies, are concerned about the literacy and numeracy of their workforce (CBI/Anglia Nord Skill Survey).  Innovative small firms will largely fuel the recovery.  Traditionally it is very difficult to connect small employers with learning and development activity, whether it is funded or not; when they do invest the funded sector takes third place in employer investment.

Eighty-two percent of employers prioritise the employability skills of under-graduates.  The essential apprenticeship level training tends to be overlooked.  The result is that the percentage of the UK workforce employed at the technician level is 10%, against a European average of 20%.  The apprenticeship programme for Microsoft seeks to engage small employers.  This highly successful programme takes seven months to create skilled technical people (most of whom did less well at school than they should have done).

The choices are quite stark, the solution is to ramp up skills provision across the board, particularly for those in work. Technology has a key part to play in the future of learning.

Read more about the conference on the website or download the summary document

For the first time, the extensive agenda (over 400 speakers!) reflected a specific strand of sessions dedicated to workplace innovation and business results. This not only  appealed to the increasing number of delegates from private and public sector organisations, but also provided useful insights for academic institutions looking to engage the workplace better.

Naturally the Towards Maturity team were there  hunting out excellent case studies across Europe to include in our Evidence for Change programme in our quest to help readers  build the business case for learning technology. And we weren’t disappointed! Innovative use of technology to address real business problems, practical hints and tips and tangible business results flowed throughout the 2 days – it was hard to keep up!

Here are just a few examples about how technologies are helping to to break down the walls to deliver real results.

Breaking down the walls between experts and Learners to improve business processes.

When an  organisations are operating in far flung places across the globe, it is easy for some to miss out on training even when the processes and systems that they need to know about are business critical.

Nick Czinczoll, BP UK,  described some of their new approaches to blended learning to address this issue. They have established a virtual community of practice for specific area of expertise within the company such as . Each programme is comprised of a range of components - e Learning and self study, on-line classes, online collaboration and work assignments which have proven very powerful and required little effort. This has allowed them to  undertake this activity anywhere free from the constraints of a physical location as well as connecting experts (not teachers) to learners and connecting peers to each other.

As a result of this approach they have significantly reduced training costs whilst increasing learning opportunities for staff.

Breaking down walls between employees to increase sales in finance

The well quoted notion that 80% of learning is informal may ring true but addressing this issue is probably harder in the highly regulated finance world. However Francesc Fabregas, GEC, Spain and Gerard Velez from the Spanish bank La Caixa begged to differ. they introduced an informal learning environment to encourage exchange of ideas between employees  which has been used in a variety of ways to address staff concerns, communicate ideas and improve sales. For example they used the forum (with access for all staff ) to carry out a brainstorm to improve sales opportunities which resulted in over 100 suggestions and ideas which were then analysed by the ‘experts’ in the community . The focused results document was shared with 6000 staff who then applied it in their jobs. As one manager commented ‘The exchange of ideas on the part our employees strongly impacted the sale of products. The sales ratio increased from 2 products to 6 per employee after performing the action”.

Breaking down the walls between competency management and learning

Large global consultancy companies, like many of us, are under increasing pressure at the moment  to provide faster, cheaper, better solutions  to their staff. However given that their product is the intellectual capital – staff competency becomes competitive advantage and is critical to for them to manage. Nick Van Dam from Deloitte, spoke about how this has changed the way that learning and development is delivered to their 170,000 employees spread across the globe.  The company operates a rigid performance management system  to ensue staff have the required competency to meet client expectations.  Their twin approach between formal and informal, on demand  learning led them to build their on- line capability. As  part of the change they introduced a new online competency model and mapped  e content onto the competency themes.

This change was accompanied by a move to self service infrastructure based upon individual career and personal development plans which are also linked to the performance management system.
This change  was very transparent to managers and staff and all can see what is available which increased staff motivation.

Interestingly Deloitte are also breaking down walls between clients and staff via a newly  launched  Leadership Academy, a portal providing blended content and social networking for collaboration internally and externally (100+ clients involved).

Breaking down the walls in retail training

However not every retail professional has access to mobile phones in the workplace. Olaf Bursian, From Real (the german supermarket leader) described some pilots taking place at their flagship Future store  - SB Warenhaus. The future store has been designed to take full advantage of technology across all business process. They wanted to  look at approaches that would bring learning closer to staff. What devices in store can they use that have small pcs  embedded in them that could help?  They decided to work with weighing s scales and  info terminals for customers rather than the till systems ( cashiers learning at the till  would only cause queues!). Using the devices that are so near to the floor  allowed a faster transfer from learning to work.  The customer can also be easily be supported eg whilst weighing cheese , staff have access to more information to support the customer with additional information and hopefully drive more sales!  Their challenge in this approach was one of technology - how to get content to scales, how to address browser issues etc. One interesting feature was the inclusion of a panic button within the content so that the device moved quickly from the learning package back to being a scale again!

Breaking down the walls for new staff

Getting new staff up to speed quickly with products and services in order to help them deliver excellent customer services is a challenge for many and the walls that face new employees can result in them leaving quickly if you don’t get it right. Kenny Henderson of Sky UK ( who will also be speaking at Learning Technologies in January) outlined how they established a  new joiner’s portal to address  induction program training which staff can access prior to joining the company. The effect of this approach on the reduction in attrition, increase in sales and speed to competency all highlight how the effective use of learning technologies can really impact business.
Breaking down walls in 2010.

These walls have not come down by accident but by design- careful alignment to business need, appropriate use of technology to address business related learning issues and careful engagement have all contributed to the results.

These are just a few highlights, we will be following up Kenny’s story and many of the others not covered here both in this magazine and also on site at www.towardsmaturity.org. 
If Online Educa Berlin is anything to go by – I look forward to more walls being torn down in 2010 and hope that our evidence for change programme helps put  some weight behind your efforts!